Lentil Dal with Roasted Aubergine, Butternut & Tempeh

A good dish to be friends with

This dal is hearty, full of flavour, good for your gut and easy to make. The tempeh I used is made from chickpeas, but any other bean tempeh will be just fine. It’s the umami you cannot miss!

Servings: 2

Total time: 1 hour

For the tempeh

Ingredients

200g chickpea tempeh (or any other tempeh), cubed

1 tbsp olive or toasted sesame oil

1 tbsp rice wine vinegar

1 tbsp red miso paste

1 tsp maple syrup

For the Aubergine & Butternut

Ingredients

1 aubergine, cubed

1/4 butternut squash, cubed

2 tbsp olive or toasted sesame oil

salt

For the Dal

Ingredients

1 tbsp toasted sesame oil

2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped

1 tbsp minced fresh ginger

1 tbsp miso paste

3/4 cup red lentils

1 cup water

1 can full fat coconut milk

salt and papper to taste

1/2 lemon, juiced

to serve

pita bread

fresh parsley

lemon wedges

drizzle of toasted sesame oil

Instructions

1. For the tempeh, place the cubes in a bowl and mix together the marinade ingredients in another. Pour this mixture over the tempeh and make sure that every cube is covered. Cover the bowl and put aside. You can either prepare the tempeh a few hours before cooking or the night before. If you don’t have so much time, let it marinade for 30 minutes at least.

2. For the aubergine and butternut squash, preheat the oven to 200°C and line a tray with baking paper. Place the aubergine and butternut squash cubes on it, drizzle with the oil and season with salt. Give the veggies a good stir, then roast for about 15 - 20 minutes, checking after about 10 minutes whether some cubes need to be turned to prevent burning). Remove from the oven and set aside.

3. For the dal, heat the oil in a medium-sized pot and fry the garlic and ginger until fragrant. Add the miso paste, a splash of water and stir to combine.

4. Add in the lentils, water and coconut milk and let the dal cook on medium to high heat for 15 minutes with occasional stirring. Once the dal is thicker and the lentils are cooked, season it with salt and pepper and add in the lemon juice.

5. To prepare the tempeh, heat a pan to medium-high heat and fry the cubes until golden brown from each side. The marinade liquids should be enough to fry in, but if not and the tempeh seems to be dry, add a little more oil and some lemon juice.

6. To serve, scoop the dal into a bowl, top with the roasted aubergine and butternut squash, add some tempeh and garnish with fresh parsley. Drizzle some more toasted sesame oil on top if you are into that, as well as some lemon juice. Serve with spelt pita bread or any other type of flatbread you have at home. Enjoy this flavour explosion, my fellow foodie!