Lentil dahl with chickpeas is such a satisfying meal and super easy to make as long as you prep first.
The flavors of this dish meld together to make a delicious vegan meal, perfect comfort food after a long day. This meal is also Daniel Fast friendly.
A couple of years ago I spent ten days in Ireland and stopped for lunch at The Happy Pear while in Glendalough.
After a fabulous meal, I walked into the small store that's in the front of the restaurant and discovered The Happy Pear cookbook.
It turns out that the twin brothers who started The Happy Pear have created quite an empire, introducing people to the vegan lifestyle through restaurants, books, and even online cooking classes.
The restaurants have been hugely popular, and they've even opened a location in Dublin - the first vegan restaurant in the airport!
You simply cannot go to County Wicklow Ireland without stopping by The Happy Pear for a meal.
I saw this dahl recipe on the Happy Pear website and knew it would be perfect for a delicious, healthy meal all year long as well as a fit for the Daniel Fast - with a slight modification.
The original recipe calls for maple syrup, so I used date paste instead.
Making date paste is super easy, and you can use it for so many recipes that call for a sweetener.
You don't have to use a sweetener at all, but as the original recipe used syrup, I thought it might need it. I think it was a good choice.
So you know, in my humble opinion, this is not as quick of a recipe as it said on the website, but it's worth the time spent chopping!
Once you've prepped, everything comes together quickly.
I changed a couple of other things from their recipe as well, so if you want to see the original, visit The Happy Pear website.
Ingredients for Lentil Dahl
Again, this is a fairly long list of ingredients, but we've found prepping a lot of veggies ahead of time helps us to stick with healthier meals.
If you are prepping for the Daniel Fast, or just want to make several healthy meals, these are ingredients you can use over and over again.
You'll need garlic, ginger, onions, chickpeas, lentils, canned tomatoes, fresh spinach, vegetable broth, fresh lime juice, date paste, cilantro, cherry tomatoes, curry powder, turmeric, ground cumin, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, tamari (or soy sauce), and salt.
NOTE: Beware of sugar in canned goods. Tomatoes are notorious for containing added sugar. You may also find sugar in vegetable broth and even beans. You really do have to read the label.
How to Make Lentil Dahl
Chop garlic, ginger, and spring onions.
Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
Roughly chop cilantro. Drain and rinse lentils and chickpeas.
Heat large skillet on high heat.
Add cumin and fennel seeds to the pan, heating for about 30 seconds. Stir in the rest of the spices heating for an additional 30 seconds.
Toss spring onions, ginger, and garlic together in the pan and reduce heat to medium, cooking for three minutes, stirring on occasion so they don't stick.
Gently add cherry tomatoes to the pan with the salt. Cook one minute.
Add lentils, chickpeas, broth, and tomatoes.
Add tamari, spinach, date paste, and lime juice, bringing to a boil. Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes.
Serve with chopped cilantro and, if you'd like, a Daniel Fast approved bread like this Indian Flatbread.
More Vegan Meals
Just because you're cutting out foods that aren't healthy doesn't mean you have to sacrifice flavor, too.
This roasted vegetable soup is one of my all-time favorites. Roast a bunch of veggies and use some for soup, and others for meals.
You can also whip up this Moroccan vegetable stew or this Italian Bean soup for an easy dinner.
This Kale and Sweet Potato bowl is super delicious. We have it at least once a month. The addition of vegan hummus gives it great texture, too.
Adding a salad to a bowl of soup makes for a delicious meal, and this kale caesar salad is so good.
These sweet potato wraps are fun to eat and so good for you. We love the quinoa in these wraps.
If you're a quinoa fan, check out this quinoa chickpea salad.
If you're looking for more vegan meals, check out this list of Daniel Fast recipes or these Daniel Fast lunch ideas.
I also have a list Daniel Fast breakfast recipes. My favorite is the easy muffin recipe, great for busy mornings.
Though we don't tend to eat many desserts on this fast, these strawberry popsicles are nice to have when you want something sweet.
For another sweet treat, these Weight Watchers Snack cookies are made from oats, bananas, and berries.
To learn more about the spiritual side of The Daniel Fast, visit The Daniel Fast Blog written by Susan Gregory, and pick up her book. This is the book I first read when learning about the Fast.
Lentil Dahl
Ingredients
- 3 cloves garlic
- 1 piece of ginger about 1 ½ inches
- 5 spring onions
- 2 C chickpeas
- 2 C lentils
- 2 C canned tomatoes no sugar
- 2 C spinach
- 1 C vegetable broth no sugar
- 2 T lime juice
- 2 T date paste
- 2 T cilantro
- 10 cherry tomatoes
- 1 T curry powder
- 1 teaspoon tumeric
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 T tamari
- salt to taste
Instructions
- Chop garlic, ginger, and spring onions.
- Cut cherry tomatoes in half.
- Roughly chop cilantro.
- Drain and rinse lentils and chickpeas
- Heat large skillet on high heat
- Add cumin and fennel seeds to the pan, heating for about 30 seconds.
- Add the rest of the spices heating for an additional 30 seconds.
- Add spring onions, ginger, and garlic to the pan and reduce heat to medium. Cook for 3 minutes, stirring on occasion so they don't stick.
- Add cherry tomatoes to the pan with the salt.
- Add lentils, chickpeas, broth, and tomatoes.
- Add tamari, spinach, date paste, and lime juice, bringing to a boil.
- Reduce heat and cook for 2 minutes.
- Serve with chopped cilantro and a Daniel Fast approved bread.
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