SABZI HOME RECIPES

House Dahl

Sabzi’s House Dahl is a dish that’s been on our menu since I opened Sabzi back in 2019…it’s become a real staple at the heart of the business and I absolutely love it for its humble ingredients, comforting flavour and nourishment. We sell our own unique Spice Blend at Sabzi, so if you do fancy giving it a go, pop by and grab a jar when you’re next passing – we’d always love to welcome you.

In the meantime, I hope you enjoy making this at home – it’s wonderfully versatile, you can increase the heat if you like it spicy, stir through a big knob of butter at the end if you fancy some added indulgence, or serve as part of other curried dishes – it keeps brilliantly in the fridge for 5 days, and freezes well too. I’ve also included a quick recipe for Iranian style mint yoghurt which makes for a gorgeous accompaniment. All photographs taken by the wonderful James Ram

Dahl ingredients

Sabzi Dahl Spice Blend or a mixture of 1⁄2 medium curry powder to a 1⁄4 turmeric and 1⁄4 garam masala

500g red lentils

1 large white onion, finely chopped

Thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated

3 cloves garlic, finely chopped

1 tin chopped tomatoes

1 tin coconut milk

2 tbsp tomato puree

Lime juice (bottled is fine)

Mango chutney

Fresh coriander (quantity as per your preference)

Greek yoghurt (to serve)

Method

Gently fry your onion before adding your ginger and garlic and cooking until soft and fragrant.

Add one heaped teaspoon of Sabzi House Dahl Blend per person (6 in this case), plus fresh

chilli if you like more heat. Continue to stir before adding tomato purée, 3 tablespoons of lime juice. Season with black pepper.

Add your lentils and stir to coat well with the spice paste. Add water if needed to avoid catching. Add chopped tomatoes and one extra can of water. Stir through 2 tablespoons of mango chutney and cook gently, stirring frequently until lentils are almost tender. Keep topping up with water to avoid lentils becoming too thick.  At this stage you can pop the dahl in your slow cooker and leave to cook all day if you fancy coming home to a gorgeous, fragrant supper.

Add coconut milk to the dahl along with a dash more lime and half of your fresh coriander, chopped. Taste.

When cooked adjust seasoning to your preference; you will often need more mango, lime and salt at this stage. Serve with Greek yoghurt and the remainder of the fresh coriander.

Mint yoghurt ingredients

200g thick Greek style yoghurt (dairy or vegan)

1.5 tbsp dried mint

1 tbsp lemon juice

1 pinch of salt

Generous grind of black pepper

1 tsp agave nectar

Method

Mix all ingredients together in a bowl. Taste and tweak if needed; this should be tangy with lemon, savoury with black pepper but with a delicious hint of sweetness from the agave.

Chef’s Note: Serve a sprinkling of spiced and roasted seeds on your dahl instead of the classic soup/ croutons, or roast seeds with some chunks of stale bread too for a lovely, texture-packed topping!

Spiced and roasted seeds method

Place a mix of sunflower and pumpkin seeds in a mixing bowl and sprinkle lightly with cumin, garam masala and turmeric. Add a very light drizzle of maple syrup and a generous pinch of salt. Mix by hand until the seeds are well coated with the spices and syrup. Tip onto a baking sheet and spread into a single layer. Toast in a warm oven (170) until the seeds smell aromatic and delicious and are crispy and slightly golden.