Dahl

Feeling bloated, heavy and overindulged from Thanksgiving?

Make a homemade batch of Ayurvedic Dahl to eat for the next few days.

Dahl is a lentil based stew that is extremely easy for our bodies to digest. It has all the nutritional components necessary for energy and health from simple, vegetable sources.

Eat the dahl for one to three of your meals per day for three to ten days. Chew each bite completely and drink extra water during the day.

Be sure to exercise 30 - 60 minutes per day to help flush toxins out.

The following recipe is from Ayurvedic Wellness Practitioner, Shanalee Gallagher in Chicago, IL. You can contact her for wellness and dietary services at: 312.613.1099 or Email Shanalee

Shanalee's Dahl Recipe (in her words):
**There is ritual to making this recipe. So, follow instructions and add lots of love**

4 cups split yellow mung dahl
12 cups filtered water or 6 cups veggie stock and 6 cups water.
5 organic medium carrots
1 bunch organic kale, washed and destemmed, sliced into thin pieces
1 fresh jalapeno sliced thin
1 heaping tbsp cumin - whole seeds
1 heaping tbsp corriander - whole seeds
1 heaping tbsp fennel - whole seeds
1 tsp turmeric - ground
1 level tbsp celery seed - whole seed
1 -2 bay leaves
Coconut oil
Cilantro
lime

1. Rinse the dahl in warm to cold water. Put dahl in large bowl. Add water. Stir with right hand in clockwise direction. Drain water and repeat this step three times total. Dahl will "suds." Be sure to rinse until there are no "suds."

2. Put clean dahl in large soup pot and add 12 cups of filtered water. Place over low to medium heat. Lentils will start to slowly warm while you do the next steps.

3. In a separate pan, roast all seeds (not turmeric) in 1/2 tbsp of coconut oil. Cook until brown. Keep stirring so they do not burn to a lightly roasted state.

4. Transfer seeds and turmeric to mortar and pestle or a bowl and use a wooden spoon to crush.

5. Add crushed spices and bay leaves to lentil pot. Raise to a medium heat.

6. Chop carrots, jalapenos and kale.

7. When you see lentils start to break, add carrots and jalapenos. Maintain a covered soft boil about an hour or until lentils soften and break and thicken and turn into a "bean base." Soup will be thick and smooth.

8. If soup is too watery - add more lentils ... or too thick add more water.
You can't mess it up - it will either be a "soupy" bean base or it can be a thicker bean base with less cooked broken lentils. Experiment with the consistency you like.

9. Add Kale after right consistency is achieved. Simmer covered on low for an additional 15 - 20 minutes.

10. Serve immediately or to reheat ... add a bit of water.

11. Serve the dahl with 1/4 to 1/2 cup of cooked brown rice or extra steamed greens if you wish. I like to spoon on 1/2 to 1 tsp extra virgin coconut oil or ghee, squeeze the juice of 1/4 to 1/2 fresh lime and add a dash of sea salt on top.
Garnish with chopped cilantro.





(photo from: heartandstroke.sk.ca)