Red Split Dhal with Vegetables, Arugula and Mixed Tomato Salad with Mango Miso Dressing in Celebration of Friends' New Baby (No Added Fat)

I'm so excited that friends of mine just had a baby and I'm first in the meal train to bring food over! It's always a privilege to be able to be connected in any way with a new baby and I'm thankful that I get to take food over.

I like to include fenugreek when I cook for new Moms to help stimulate lactation; I don't like the flavor of fenugreek but when I cook with it, I always make sure that the fenugreek is enveloped with many other strong flavors so it doesn't show through. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 3 cups red split lentils
• 2 cups kale (I used frozen, but fresh is fine)
• 1 cup spinach
• 2 cups cauliflower florets
• 1 1/2 cups broccoli florets
• 2 cups carrot (2 medium carrots) cut into 3/8" chunks and then halved
• 1T finely (1/8") chopped ginger
• 2 medium cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped (about 1 1/2 T)
• Vegan bouillon cube
• 1t turmeric
• 1t garlic powder
• 1t cumin seed
• 1T fenugreek seed
• 6 cups water
• 2 cups chopped bell pepper (approx. 1/4" x 3/4" slices)
• 2 cups onion cut into 3/8" cubes (I used about 1/3 of a red onion and 1/3 of a Vidalia onion)
• 4T lime juice
• 2t salt

Process

1. Split lentils cook in a ratio of 1 : 2-2.5 parts water for 13-18m under pressure. I went with a 1:2 ratio for a thicker dhal for 16m. I put all of the ingredients except the onion, lime juice, and salt, into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 16m.
2. After the cooking was done, I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the bell pepper, onion, lime juice, and salt.

I took this over along with long-grained brown rice (cooked in a 1:2.5 ratio for 45m) and various salad ingredients (arugula and mixed cherry tomatoes). I made a simple chickpea miso - mango dressing (a combination I'd not tried before but I think it came out well; I blended 2T miso with 1/2 t black sesame seeds - a great source of calcium, a medium shallot (maybe 2 T), 1T mango chunks, 1T maple syrup, and 1/8 t salt.  When I come home, this will all also be my dinner! 

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending