Coconut cauliflower dahl with cumin fried leeks

Cauliflower’s one of those vegetables that people seem to love or hate, probably because of the memories we all have of the watery, mushy weird stuff we were served up at school. I think it’s great though, but for me, it lends itself to spices, and lots of them. Served up as a creamy, substantial dahl, cooked slowly with coconut and delicate spices, or as a crunchy, exotic salad with nuts and dried fruit (my next recipe), it’s easy to enjoy cauliflower without any cheese sauce in sight*.

I love making dahl – it’s the ultimate comforting one-pot wonder – and I do experiment quite a bit with different spices and textures. This one is very thick with the addition the coconut and cauliflower (more of a lentil and cauliflower curry), but I think it could also be turned into a more soupy variety by using less lentils and more coconut milk or stock. I try to roast whole spices then crush them up as I think it makes the flavour deeper, but you can of course use ready ground if it’s easier.

Makes 4 portions

200g yellow split peas or any other lentils (dried not canned)

2 onions, chopped

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 cm piece of root ginger, chopped small or grated

1 tomato, chopped

2/3 cauliflower, chopped into tiny florets

1 tin coconut milk

Spices:

1 tsp cumin seeds

½ tsp coriander seeds

3 cloves

2 black peppercorns

½ cm piece cinnamon stick

½ tsp mustard seeds

(the above should be roasted in a dry pan for a couple of minutes then crushed)

chilli – either chilli flakes or chilli powder (to taste)

½ tsp turmeric

For the leeks:

2 leeks, rinsed and chopped into slices about ½ cm wide

Cumin seeds

Start off by gently frying the chopped onion in a bit of oil for about 10 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic and cook for another couple of minutes. Add the rest of the spices and fry for another minute before adding the lentils and tomato. Add the tin of coconut milk and about 250ml water to start with (you will probably need more depending on the consistency you’re after), and bring to a simmer. Let it bubble away happily for about 40 minutes (this obviously depends on the type of lentils you’re using – check the packet instructions), stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn’t stick and adding extra water when needed.

Once it’s thickened up and the lentils are very nearly cooked, add the florets. It only needs cooking for another 5-7 minutes now so heat up a frying pan for a couple of minutes until it’s really hot, add some groundnut oil (I used this because it doesn’t smoke at higher temperatures) and add the leeks. Stir fry them quickly, adding the cumin seeds in the last minute of cooking time. They still want to be quite green.

Serve up the dahl garnished with the leeks, some yogurt and either naan, chapattis or roti.

* I do of course love cauliflower cheese too though. Especially my mum’s.