Broccoli Dal Curry

evelyn/athens's Note:

This is an extremely flavourful curry. Vegetarians can use vegetable broth instead of chicken broth. Kids really like this too (with less pepper). Serve with basmati as a side to a more elaborate dinner, or alone, for a simple meal.

• Total Time: 1 hrs 30 mins
• Prep Time: 20 mins
• Cook Time: 1 hrs 10 mins

Ingredients:

Servings: 4

• 4 tablespoons butter or 4 tablespoons ghee
• 2 medium onions, chopped
• 1 teaspoon chili powder
• 1 1/2 teaspoons black pepper
• 2 teaspoons cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 2 teaspoons turmeric
• 1 cup red lentil
• 1 lemon, juice of
• 3 cups chicken broth
• 2 medium broccoli, chopped
• 1/2 cup dried coconut (optional)
• 1 tablespoon flour
• 1 teaspoon salt
• 1 cup cashews, coarsely chopped (optional)

Directions:

1. Heat butter in saucepan and saute onions until well browned.
2. Add chili powder, pepper, cumin, coriander and turmeric.
3. Stir and cook, 1 minute.
4. Add lentils, lemon juice, broth and coconut if using.
5. Bring to boil, reduce heat and simmer for 45-55 minutes (if mixture is too thick, you may need to add a little hot water).
6. Steam broccoli for 7 minutes.
7. Plunge broccoli in cold water and set aside.
8. Remove 1/3 cup of liquid from the lentil mixture.
9. Add to flour to form a smooth paste.
10. Return to pan; add broccoli, salt and nuts if using.
11. Simmer for 5 minutes.
12. Serve over Basmati rice.

Reviews

[Marina K]

We love this recipe and make it quite regularly. Instead of using butter or ghee I generally use 2 tablespoons of vegetable oil, or margarine. I have substituted 2 teaspoons of garam masala for the black pepper and chili powder, and added a 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne. I too use 4 cups of water, and don't bother adding any flour. We prefer to omit the coconut and the added salt, but include the cashews. Thanks for posting such a delcious and healthy recipe!

[jamievoll]

this came out pretty good.. i ended up using veggie oil and next time will use only 1 T as 4 just seemed too much.. i only used one onion and i halved the turmeric, but will quarter it next time as i'm not a huge fan.. didnt have lemon so i had to use limes.. broccoli could have been cooked longer.. and i didnt see too much of a point w the flour.. consistency was already there.. all in all it was a good recipe.. thanks for posting

[972087]

Seems that I'm the only one, but I thought this was just okay. The cooking time was fine for me, but I used red lentils, which cook faster than brown. My main issue with this was that the amount of spices added made it very grainy, and at the same time, I did not find it to be as flavorful as the previous reviewers. But perhaps this was my fault, since everyone else has had lovely results. One thing I can definitely say though, mine looked EXACTLY like the photo!