After the holidays and the overindulgence in food and drinks over the past two months. A light, healthy, vegetarian, detoxifying soup is in order. My Dhal and Naan are an excellent kick-start to a healthy New Year. This mildly spiced Dhal Vegetable Soup is perfect, made with lentils, carrots, tomatoes, and potatoes, and a variety of herbs and spices. Topped with some chopped fresh cilantro (coriander) and served with freshly baked Naan, these two recipes, dhal, and naan, are the perfect way to detox and start the new year on the right foot.
My Naan recipe is awesome and is the perfect addition to this dhal recipe. I’ve made a lot of different Naan recipes throughout the years, tweaked them here and there to get to the perfect recipe. This recipe is easy and delicious, and nothing beats the smell of yeasty flatbread baking in the oven. Pulling it out and eating it while it’s still piping hot is a little slice of heaven. The trick is, not eating all of it before the dhal is finished cooking!
Nothing smells better than freshly baked naan in the oven and a pot of my dhal recipe simmering on the stovetop.
Ingredients in Dhal
- Dal: Dried split pulses or lentils. Any color lentil will work when making this dhal soup recipe.
- Aromatics: Fresh ginger, garlic, celery, and onions help create amazing flavor and aroma. Very healthy these antioxidants used together work great for the immune system and are anti-inflammatory.
- Veggies: Tomatoes, potatoes, carrots, and jalapenos help to round out the Dhal and make it a complete meal. Together, they are not necessarily traditional dhal ingredients, but the vegetables are a great addition to my dhal recipe.
- Spices: The spices in this dhal recipe are turmeric, cumin, curry, coriander, red pepper flakes, and salt. I love the mouthwatering aroma of this recipe as it fills our home and wakes up the senses.
Here is my Dhal recipe:
Dhal and Naan
Ingredients
- 2 Tablespoons Ghee
- 1 Cup Onion Diced
- 1 Cup Celery Diced
- 3 Tablespoons Fresh Ginger Grated
- 2 Teaspoons Garlic Crushed and chopped
- 1-2 Jalapenos Seeded and finely diced, seeds option (hot)
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Turmeric
- 2 Teaspoons Ground Cumin
- 2 Teaspoons Curry Powder
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Coriander
- 1/2-1 Teaspoon Red Pepper Flakes Optional
- 1 Pound Dried Lentils Any color
- 6-8 Cups Water Add more if needed
- 3 Cups Tomatoes Diced
- 2 Cups Red Potatoes 1-inch dice, skin on
- 2 Cups Carrots 1-inch dice, peeled
- 3 Teaspoons Salt
Instructions
- Place dried lentils in a fine sieve and rinse thoroughly until the water runs clear, sort through the lentils to remove any debris
- In a large saucepan, add ghee and the onions, and celery, sauté for 3-minutes until soft
- Add the garlic, ginger, and jalapenos and sauté for 1-minute
- Add the turmeric, ground cumin, curry powder, and ground coriander sauté for 1-minute to temper the spices and wake them up
- Add 6 cups of water and lentils, and bring to a boil, then reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer for 30-minutes.
- After 30-minutes, add salt, tomatoes, carrots, and potatoes, return to a boil, reduce to a simmer and simmer for 1-hour
- Taste frequently and adjust seasonings as needed, if not hot enough, red pepper flakes are optional, if too hot, add additional potatoes
Go HERE for my Naan Recipe
[…] What’s the difference between Naan and Pita Bread? Both Naan and Pita Bread are yeast-leavened flat bread. The difference is that Naan is an enriched bread containing eggs and yogurt. You can check out my Naan recipe here. […]