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What a gift it is when you discover a food that’s a) deeply satisfying winter comfort-food, b) incredibly easy to make, and c) low-fat, high-protein and very good for you, all at the same time. Not possible? Meet Dhal! This is one of my favourite suppers, and my kids love it too, (even the baby, who scoops it up with his fingers – you can imagine the mess!!), so it comes up often on our weekly meal plan, with rice and/or naan bread.
It is perfectly suited to slow-cooking, so you can get this prepped in the morning then leave it to do its thing for the rest of the day, just in time for dinner. It keeps well in the fridge for a few days, and also freezes well, so if you’re looking to expand your repertoire of vegan batch-cooking for the freezer, dhal is your friend!
I don’t have a slow-cooker, but made this in my latest kitchen gadget swoon, this rather space-age contraption, the Redmond Multicooker.
This multicooker can do just about anything, I think of it as a (fast) slow-cooker, oven, steamer, deep fryer, breadmaker, and all-round cooker in one nifty appliance.
I’ve been using mine for about a month now, and have tried a lot of the various functions, so thought I would share some of its pros and cons with you:
Pros:
1. Multitasking
You can make an awful lot of different dishes in this one machine, once you get the hang of it. With just one big (5 litre) easy-clean non-stick bowl to clean, it is a really fuss-free way to cook some of your favourite foods.
Think: soup ~ porridge ~ stew ~ pizza ~ curry ~ cake ~ stir fry ~ pasta ~ bread (prove dough & bake) ~ deep fry ~ steamed vegetables ~ sauces ~ rice ~ yoghurt ~ pasta ~ risotto ~ pilaf ~ chilli… and so much more! The cooker comes with a recipe book with 120 recipes, and though not a lot of them are vegan, I found this a really useful reference guide for cooking similar vegan foods.
2. Space
This is the perfect gadget for kitchens where space is limited, as it can perform so many tasks, and even replace a hob or oven if required.
My parents-in-law have both a narrowboat and a campervan, and I think this would be perfect for both kitchens, for people who want to cook more than the standard camping cuisine but don’t want to bring along steamers, slow-cookers, breadmakers, etc. Imagine waking up on a boat to the smell of freshly cooked bread…. wonderful!
3. Budget
Redmond’s range of multicookers starts from just £72 (or even less with their current Black Friday deals!), and the model I’ve got (151E) is RRP £162. If you were to buy even the very cheapest individual appliances for all the functions it performs you couldn’t possibly do so for less than the cost of a multicooker, so if you are starting out in your first home or student kitchen, this would be a great purchase.
4. All day long
I’ve used my multicooker for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and the timer delay and keep warm functions allow you to prepare your main meal at any time of day, and just set it to start cooking when you need it. Perfect for fitting meal prep around working hours or for busy families. Or how about setting the timer delay to slow-cook your porridge to be ready just in time for when your alarm clock goes off? Perfect!
5. Do your own thing
The Multicooker can be programmed for any temperature between 35 and 180°С, for any length of time, and even set with a timer delay of up to 24 hours, or a keep-warm function, so once you’ve got the hang of it you can cook pretty much anything at all. I’ve been experimenting a lot with the MULTICOOK function, and friends have used theirs for sous-vide style cooking in vacuum bags, preserves, sterelising baby equipment, and all sorts. Probably the most versatile piece of kit in my kitchen.
Cons:
1. Voice Guide
I find the voice over really quite loud and irritating, (though my kids LOVE it, they think its hilarious!), but luckily there’s an option to turn this off so I can cook in silence, (or not drowning out Radio 4!).
2. Recipe Book
The recipe book is very extensive, but fairly heavily focused on meat and fish, and most dishes I find a bit dated or not particularly suited to British tastes, (Redmond is an international company, and a lot of the dishes which are probably staple suppers in other countries just aren’t something people tend to cook over here). But I do use the book quite a bit when working out how to cook a particular dish in it – so for a veggie chilli, I would look at the time and setting instructions for a beef chilli, for instance.
3. Intuitive
The various functions do take a bit of getting used to – some have cooked far quicker than I expected, and others slower. But like any nifty new appliance, practice makes perfect and I’ve now got quite a few staple suppers and easy breakfast and lunch ideas that I know exactly how to cook, keep warm or time delay.
So back to the dhal – I often make this when we have an after-school activity to go to, so I can get it made in the afternoon, let it slow-cook, then use the keep warm function whilst we’re out and have it ready to eat the minute we get back through the door.
Sweet potato also works really well in place of butternut squash, as does carrot. And you can use yellow split-peas instead of red lentils, (or a half-and-half mixture, which is really nice).
I top mine with crispy fried slices of green chill and a little of the chilli oil, (leaving it off for the kids), and a squeeze of lemon and fresh coriander. Sometimes I roast the squash cubes in the oven instead of putting them into the dhal, and serve them on top like croutons. The possibilities are endless!
How will you serve yours?!
Slow Cooker Butternut Dhal
Ingredients
- 1 red onion
- 2 tbsp rapeseed or sunflower oil
- 1 tsp garlic purée / ready-chopped garlic
- 1 tsp ginger purée / ready-chopped ginger
- 1 red chilli, de-seeded and sliced
- 4 tsp curry powder (or 1 tsp each of ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and crushed mustard seeds)
- 200 g red lentils, rinsed
- 400 ml tin coconut milk (I use the 'light' coconut milk, but full fat will be even creamier!)
- 1 tsp vegetable stock powder (check it is vegan)
- 300 g butternut squash
To finish:
- 1 lemon
- 1 green chilli
- handful fresh coriander
Instructions
To make in a Redmond Multicooker:
- Peel and chop the onion, and place in the cooker with the oil, garlic, ginger, chilli and curry powder. Cook on FRY setting for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the lentils, coconut milk, then refill the empty tin with water and add this too, followed by the stock powder. Peel the butternut squash and cut it into small cubes (about 1cm), and add to the mix. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook on SLOW COOK for 2 hours, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and the dhal is a thick, creamy consistency. Check and adjust seasoning then serve.
- For the optional garnish, heat 2 tbsp oil in a small frying pan. De-seed and finely slice the green chilli and add to the pan. Cook over a low to medium heat until just turning crispy. Spoon over the dhal. Roughly chop the coriander, and scatter over, then finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
To make in a slow cooker:
- Peel and chop the onion, and place in a frying pan with the oil, garlic, ginger, chilli and curry powder. Cook over a medium heat for 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Tip into the slow cooker, then add the lentils and coconut milk. Refill the empty tin just half way with water and add this too, followed by the stock powder. Peel the butternut squash and cut it into small cubes (about 1cm), and add to the mix. Season well with salt and pepper. Cook on high for 4 hours, (or low for 8 hours), until the lentils are soft and the dhal is a thick, creamy consistency. Check and adjust seasoning then serve.
- For the optional garnish, heat 2 tbsp oil in a small frying pan. De-seed and finely slice the green chilli and add to the pan. Cook over a low to medium heat until just turning crispy. Spoon over the dhal. Roughly chop the coriander, and scatter over, then finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
Don’t forget to pin the recipe for later, or to share with friends → → → → →
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There are lots of quick and easy recipes in my new book, ‘Vegan in 15‘*. Hop over to Amazon for a look. Thanks for your support!
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I’m linking this recipe with two blogging challenges:
- CookBlogShare hosted this week by Recipes Made Easy
- SlowCookChallenge hosted by BakingQueen74
Disclosure: This post was sponsored by Redmond Multicookers, who also sent me a multicooker to review. There was no expectation of a positive review. Thank you for supporting the brands that keep The Veg Space going!
Louise Fairweather says
This sounds lovely. I am trying to find more veg recipes that my husband would like so think I need to give this a try. #cookblogshare
Lucy says
Ooh Kate, this looks delicious, I love the butternut squash in there giving your dhal that vibrant colour and flavour too. The Redmond Multicooker sounds like a marvellous gadget for the kitchen! Thank you very much for joining in with the Slow Cooked Challenge.
Jacqui Bellefontaine says
Im going to try this. I love Dhal and yet I never make it. S I have an instant pot so I will make it in that.
Thank you for linking to #CookBlogShare
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I’m a huge fan of dhal recipes Kate. My friend’s Mum ALWAYS has a huge pan of it on the stove when I visit and without fail she offers me a bowlful of it (even when it’s only mid-morning bless her!) So tasty & so easy 🙂 Love that you’ve included butternut squash in it too.
Angela x
Eb Gargano | Easy Peasy Foodie says
YUM! This sounds like an awesome recipe – actually I make something similar but with cauliflower too, but I’ve never thought of slow cooking it – might have to give that a go sometime as it clearly works a treat! Love the look of that multicooker too – sounds like the perfect gadget!! Eb x
Louise (Cooking with Kids) says
Lentils, spices and butternut squash, that’s a lot of yummyness! I’m going to give this a try, I think my kids would like it too.
Lauren says
This recipe is amazing. I refused to eat lentils but thought I’d give it a go, its so easy to make and so homely and will be one of my weekly staples now, thankyou!
thevegspace says
That’s great to hear, thanks Lauren!
Charis says
I made this last night for my husband, myself and two toddlers and we all loved it. So much so that I made it again for a dinner party of 7 who all loved it too! I felt brave cooking a vegan dish for them but they all loved it and most had seconds.
Only now I realise I forgot to put chilli in, will do that next time!
Thank you for the recipe!
Kate Ford says
Great to hear – thanks so much Charis!
Georgia says
I hardly ever write recipe reviews but I just had to for this dish because I make it ALL the time now – my husband requests it regularly! It tastes amazing, has minimal ingredients and is so easy to make (especially if you use the slow cooker!) I’m for sure doubling (or maybe tripling lol) the recipe from now on so it lasts longer and could do for lunches etc 🙂 Thanks!