Heartwarming Halloumi Dahl

I never thought I'd be one to advocate the deliciousness of a lentil, or the benefits of plentiful protein, but every peri-menopausal day is a surprise!

I’ll be upfront from the off, this is a somewhat bastardised, rather old Hello Fresh recipe - I have a few of these in my repertoire and tbh, they’re so far from their original form I have no shame in claiming them as my own at this point.

Please note the fancy pomegranate seeds are wholly optional, to the point, my kids just pick them off anyway. But I think they add a nice fresh, zesty crunch to the top.

It’s the one thing, when Bruno is making his long journey home from The North (yes, I envisage him like a young John Snow in Game of Thrones - but more sports polyester than bear furs) that is top of his ‘requests’ list… this Indian infused, bowl of orangey protein, is his fave home cooked meal.

It’s flavoursome, slightly salty, so very warming and with the very little expertise I have, I’d go as far as to say it’s pretty good for you.

Another bonus, with exception of my fancy pants toppings (above) and a bit of spinach, all the ingredients will last in your cupboards/fridge for a while - so it can be a bit of an ‘emergency’ meal, once you know how.

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If you love easy to follow, yummy family recipes, you’ll definitely want to check out my other recipes here, like this one…

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Right, back to the dahl…

Serves: 4 (that’s including 2x hungry teens) | Total Time: 30 Minutes

What you’ll need…

• 1 onion - finely chopped

• 4 cloves of garlic - finely chopped/minced

• 3-4 tbsp of shop bought korma paste

• 250g red split lentils

• 2 veg stock cubes

• 900ml water

• 3 handfuls of spinach

• 2 blocks of halloumi - chopped into 1cm-ish cubes

• 2 tbsp mango chutney

• Bunch of fresh coriander - chopped

• 4 spring onions - chopped

• A handful of pomegranate seeds to garnish - optional

• Naan breads to serve

Method…

1. Heat a glug of oil in a medium-large pan on a medium heat.

2. Throw in the onion and garlic to soften for about 4-5 minutes, stirring regularly.

3. Add the korma paste, stirring and coating everything for 1-2 minutes.

4. Add the lentils and stock cubes, combining the mixture, then add the water; bring to a simmer (while continuing to stir and combine), season with black pepper (you won’t need salt as the halloumi will add that later) lower the heat slightly and cook for 20 minutes - stirring at regular intervals to prevent the lentils from sticking to the bottom of your pan.

   Meanwhile, in large frying pan, we’re going to brown off the halloumi…

5. Heat a large glug of oil in the frying pan, once hot, carefully add your cubed halloumi. This may need to be done in batches to give the halloumi enough room to brown - dependent on the size of your pan.

6. Fry the halloumi for approx 5-7 minutes, until golden brown; turning the cubes every couple of minutes to ensure even cooking.

7. Once all the halloumi is golden, turned off the heat and stir in the mango chutney, coating the cubes completely.

   Back to the dahl…

8. Once your dahl has simmered to a porridge consistency, lower the heat, and chuck in your spinach and a handful of the coriander - folding it in until wilted.

9. Serve the glazed mango halloumi on top of your dahl, sprinkled with coriander, spring onions and (optional) boujie pomegranate seeds; plus warm naans on the side for dipping and scooping.

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At this stage I usually share how to store and how long to keep, but in all honesty, I’ve never been left with so much as a single lentil. The boys scrape the pans of all the flavourful goodness. So I’m afraid you’ll have to try for yourselves on that front.

Hope you enjoy folks and let me know in the comments if you make this one.

Have a super Sunday and stay cosy…