Vegetarian Wednesday is Back! Slow Cooker Dal

I love pretty much all the East Asian food I have tried, and was so happy when I found this super easy slow cooker recipe for dal (or daal). The fact that it coincides with having Wednesday nights to myself again is just one big bonus.

You will need:

A large-ish slow cooker or crockpot
1/2 head cauliflower
1 large parsnip
1 apple (preferably Granny Smith)
1/2 small onion
1 inch piece of fresh ginger
1 1/2 c lentils (I am using a combination of red and green, but whatever ya got)
1/2 c barley
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 dried chilies or 1 fresh hot pepper - I am using ancho chillies because I would really like to see what they taste like and I've had them forever
Salt
Juice from one lemon
1 tsp ghee
1 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1 1/2 tsp black mustard seeds

And for equipment:

First, as always, is prep! I am totally doing this all the night before because it gets a little rushy in our house in the am. You want to start with the veggies, and here is a trick someone taught me for breaking up cauliflower. Holding the head firmly, raise it up and then whack it on the floor, ensuring that the stem is what hits. I have also found you can do this on a nice firm counter, like granite or marble. It falls apart really nicely; you want to break up half of the head into florets.

You want to peel, core and cut up the apple into 1/2 inch pieces. I mean, don't get out a ruler or anything, just keep them bite-size-ish looking. Same for the parsnip, peel and chop it. Peel the ginger and mince it finely and dice your onion. Rinse your lentils and barley and you are good to get started!

Put the everything from cauliflower to chilies in the slow cooker; add five cups of water and turn the slow cooker on to low for 6 to 7 hours.

Check the lentils, they should be almost creamy and the veggies should just be starting to soften. Add salt and check the seasoning. Add more salt. Stir in the lemon juice and re-cover.

Melt the ghee in a non-stick saucepan at medium-high heat, add in the cumin and mustard seeds. It's going to get messy, you should probably resign yourself to that at this point. They will pop around, just stir them for 20-30 seconds and then scrape the works of it into the crockpot.

Give it a good stir and serve with: roti! Or rice! Or the fresh bread you maybe made this afternoon. That may be just me.

This makes 8 large servings at 216 calories each; I am adding a high-fibre pita and a salad and bam! Under 500 calories and it is crazy healthy.

Enjoy!