Every Monday it is Dahl Night at our house. A What night? Yes, wonderful Indian Dahl Soup night! A soup full of yumminess and a good source of protein. It is a traditional dish made with lentils and Indian spices and can be served with Basmati rice, yogurt and raisins. The combination might seem weird, but it is so good! It reminds me of the Dutch Erwtensoep. So what exactly are differences between Erwtensoep and Indian Dahl Soep?

Erwtensoep (Split pea soup)

The consistency of the Dahl Soup reminds me of our Dutch “Erwtensoep”. But because of the different Indian spices, the soup tastes different. Both soups are thick, healthy, especially good in cold winters. The Dahl Soup is a nice twist on the traditional Dutch “erwtensoep”.

The Dutch know how to make “Erwtensoep” since the 16th century. People used ingredients which were easy to get and had a long shelf life. “Erwtensoep” in the Netherlands is usually thicker than the Split Pea Soup in the US or other countries. I also found out, that the Dutch call this soup “Snert”, when it is refrigerated overnight. Funny that it totally gets a new name. I always thought it was the same thing!

Ayurveda

When our son was about 1 year old, my husband thought it was a good idea for me, as a mom of two toddlers, to go to a spa. To recharge, to revive, to get more energy! What a clever husband I have!!! He knows what a new mom needs…

This spa was not an ordinary spa. It was an Ayurvedic one. It was October and winter was just around the corner. The Ayurvedic doctor at the “spa” told me, my “Vata” was out of balance. I had to ask what that meant.  What the Ayurvedic doctor told me, made a lot of sense to me:

My body was going through a lot of changes. The change of the season, it was getting colder, lack of sleep and poor eating habits (Sorry, doesn’t eating the bits and pieces from my children count as a whole dinner??).

What are Dosha’s? Do the quiz.

Every person can do a quiz https://doshaguru.com/online to see which dosha’s are dominant. The Ayurvedic doctors have a different tool to diagnose the dosha’s. They do something which is called: pulse diagnosis. Place three fingers on the patients wrist and they can feel the depth and place of the pulse. I am mostly pitta-kapha, which is fire and earth.

I got heavenly massages for 3 days, proper sleep at their hotel and I ate the best food to get all the dosha’s balanced again. To get the Dosha’s back in balance doesn’t happen that quick, by the way. They recommended continuing some of the recommendations at home, which was hard, having 2 toddlers at that time. At the spa we had classes, like yoga and cooking classes. One recipe I remembered well: Indian Dahl Soup. Which I implemented in out weekly menu.

First of all, it is so easy! I just put all the ingredients in the crock pot around lunch time (except for the spices). In the evening I cook Basmati rice and mix the spices in the soup. Secondly, the kids love this soup and I know that they’re getting their good source of protein and vegetables. Beating the cold autumn and winter days! Enjoy!

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Indian Dahl Soup

This recipe is easy , yummy, full of protein and vegetables. The kids won’t even know it!

Course Main Course

Cuisine Indian

Keyword vegetarian

Prep Time 20 minutes

Cook Time 6 hours

Total Time 6 hours 20 minutes

Servings 4 people

Author Danielle

Ingredients

• 1 cup mung dahl (the yellow lentils)
• 1 cup lentils (the orange ones)
• 8 cups water or vegetable stock (skip the cubes)
• 2 cubes vegetable bouillon
• 3 cups vegetables of choice (zucchini or other squash, carrots, spinach, chard, broccoli, cauliflower)
• 3 tbsp butter
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• 1 tsp salt and pepper to taste

Instructions

1. Start the slow cooker or crock pot with the water (or stock, but skip the bouillon cubes), bouillon cubes, all lentils and vegetables, except leafy veggies like chard or spinach. Start the cooker on low and let it cook for 6-8 hours. After 6-8 hours add the leafy greens.

   

2. In a small frying pan, melt the butter. Add all the spices and mix. Then stir in a ladle full of soup into the spice mixture. Mix well and add to the rest of the soup in the slow cooker or crock pot. For the kids I blended the soup, but you don’t have to.  Serve with Basmati rice, yogurt and raisins.

   

Please don’t forget to share this recipe;)

Danielle

Hello everyone,

Welcome to my Crafty Dutch Girl blog! Grab a cup of “koffie” and browse through fun blog posts about our Dutch family expat life in the USA, Dutch history, Dutch recipes, Dutch things to do in the USA and all kinds of crafts and activities. Don’t forget to connect with me for new ideas! “Groetjes en tot ziens”.