Daal for all the family

This recipe is created by Paediatric Dietitian Paula Hallam and it comes from her brilliant book: Plant Powered Little People. Find Paula at https://plantbased-kids.com/ or instagram: @plantbasedkids.uk

SERVINGS: 8 TODDLER PORTIONS OR 4 ADULT PORTIONS

Dal is honestly one of my favourite meals; it is just so delicious and easy to make. It is also super baby and child friendly as it has a lovely creamy texture and mild spices. It is also a great recipe to batch cook and freeze the leftovers.

Ingredients

100g yellow split peas

200g red lentils

1 tsp ground turmeric

1 tbsp vegetable oil

1 large onion, finely chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

2cm fresh ginger, finely chopped or crushed 1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1⁄2 tsp ground cinnamon

1 tbsp tomato paste

100ml coconut milk

300g cooked basmati rice

100g cherry tomatoes, quartered

10g fresh coriander, finely chopped

Method

1. Add the yellow split peas to a saucepan with 500ml of cold water and bring to the boil, then simmer for 40 minutes until soft. Drain and set aside.

2. Add the lentils to the pan along with another 500ml of cold water and the turmeric. Bring to the boil and then simmer for 10 minutes until soft.

3. Place another saucepan on a medium heat and add the oil. Fry the onions for about 5 minutes until soft, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.

4. Add the spices to the onion, garlic and ginger and cook for 1-2 minutes, then add the cooked lentils and split peas and stir to combine everything.

5. Continue stirring while you add the tomato paste and coconut milk to the mixture. You can add a little more coconut milk if the dal seems too thick or you would like a creamier texture.

6. Serve your dal with the basmati rice, topped with the cherry tomatoes and fresh coriander.

7. 
   

Notes

You can add dried chillies to the dal for more of a kick if serving this to older children and adults.

You can also add an optional 1⁄2 teaspoon of salt, for adults and older children only.Use a 1⁄4 teaspoon of salt for toddlers and leave out the salt entirely for babies under 12 months of age.

You can double the quantities of this recipe and freeze the other half for an easy and delicious meal to warm up when you are short of time.

IMPORTANT

Remember that whole cherry tomatoes are a choking hazard, so please cut the cherry tomatoes into quarters for babies from nine to ten months of age and toddlers.For young babies (six to nine months), I’d recommend serving the dal and rice from a spoon, with large wedges of tomatoes on the side. This is because larger pieces of food are safer for young babies and easier for them to pick up with their fist (called the palmar grasp).