Saag Dhansak

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 6 cups rice
• 750 g leaf spinach, frozen
• 2 cans of coconut milk
• 350 g lentils, yellow or red
• 30 g ginger
• 3 m.-sized onion(s)
• 5 cloves garlic
• 3 tbsp coconut oil or rapeseed oil
• 4 chili peppers, medium hot
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 2 tsp coriander powder
• 3 tsp cumin
• ½ tsp mustard powder
• ½ tsp fenugreek, ground
• 4 tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• 1 can of pizza tomatoes
• 4 cardamom pods
• 1 bunch of coriander leaves
• 3 tsp salt
• ½ tsp black pepper, freshly ground

Instructions

Working time approx. 20 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 30 minutes; Total time approx. 50 minutes

an Indian dish with yellow lentils and spinach in a sour and spicy curry sauce

Peel and roughly dice the ginger, peel the garlic cloves and dice them as well. Puree both in a small food processor or chop them very finely. Finely dice the onions. Slice the chilies into thin rings. Bring a pot of water to a boil for the rice and cook the rice according to the package instructions. I always use the water-and-rice method: Add twice the amount of water to the rice, bring to a boil, reduce the heat slightly, and cook over low heat for about 15 minutes – or longer for whole-grain rice, until the rice has completely absorbed the water. I don’t usually add salt; I add salt to the sauces accordingly, but you can decide for yourself. Heat the coconut oil in a large pot and sauté the onions until translucent. Add the chilies and lentils and sauté briefly. Pour in a little water so that the lentils are just covered, reduce the heat, and simmer over medium heat for about 15 minutes. Please do not add salt during cooking, as pulses take much longer to cook otherwise. Add the frozen spinach leaves, tomatoes, and coconut milk and continue to simmer until the spinach is no longer frozen and the lentils are tender. Reduce the heat. In the meantime, open the cardamom pods and grind the cardamom seeds. Heat a pan without oil (medium heat), add all the spices except salt, pepper, and fresh coriander, and lightly toast until fragrant and golden yellow/light brown. Be careful not to burn them; if they start to smoke, remove them from the heat quickly! Wash the fresh coriander and finely chop the leaves and stems. Add the toasted spices to the lentil and spinach sauce and mix well. Add salt, pepper, and lemon juice. Season to taste. Arrange rice on plates, add the lentil and spinach curry, and garnish with fresh coriander. Serve with raita (Indian spicy yogurt) and chapati. You can also use red lentils instead of yellow lentils. Please be careful with the chilies, as they can vary greatly in heat depending on the variety.