Red Lentil and Apricot Dal

This recipe from Janet was quite lovely. Apricot lends a nice sweetness and tartness to your typical red lentil dal. I reconstituted this dried apricot paste, so my dal was more on the sweet side than the tart side; I would love to try this with fresh apricots.

Red Lentil and Apricot Dal

(from taste space)

Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 onion, chopped

6-8 cloves garlic, minced

2 tbsp finely chopped, peeled ginger

1 tbsp mild curry powder

1/2 cup tomato, cored, chopped (I used 1/2 cup cherry tomatoes)

1/3 cup dried apricots, diced

1 cup red lentils, rinsed

4 cups water

1/3 cup coconut milk

Salt + ground black pepper to taste

Chopped cilantro, to garnish

Instructions

1. In large pot over medium heat, heat oil. Once hot, add onions and saute for 10 minutes, or until lightly golden.  Reduce heat to medium-low and add the garlic and ginger, stirring to cook, for 2 minutes.
2. Add the curry powder; cook 1 minute. Add tomato, apricots, lentils and water and bring soup to a boil. Once boiling, reduce to simmer and cook until the lentils are soft, approximately 30 minutes.
3. Stir in coconut milk. Use an immersion blender to puree the soup to your desired consistency (I left mine partially pureed).
4. Taste and season with salt and pepper. To serve, sprinkle with cilantro. Serves 4.

*

And for some sides:

Spicy greens with ginger 

Green chutney (mint, cilantro) with coconut