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Turmeric Mango Daal is a healthy dish I can get my whole family to eat. Although I will preface that with many repeated exposures during their littler years paired with foods I knew they loved. This is one of those dishes that makes a frequent appearance in our meal rotations because it’s easy to make, healthy and quick.

Daal refers to lentils in Indian cooking and that is the main ingredient. This dish has zero spice because my kids are not big fans. You can add in heat in the form of chili spice and fresh hot peppers.

REMOVING ARSENIC FROM RICE

I have a Zojirushi rice maker that I love and use to make my rice for this dish. But I always let my rice sit in boiling water for 5-10 minutes prior to draining off that water, adding it to the rice maker and cooking as directed. We’re not big rice eaters but I always soak my rice prior to using it no matter where it originates. Over the years there’s been growing concern regarding arsenic found in rice and arsenic is a class I carcinogen and heavy metal. Researchers discovered if you parboil rice prior to actually cooking it, drain off the water, as seen in this article, you can remove a good bit of it while preserving the nutrients. It is an easy thing to do while you gather your ingredients and chop the onions. I use my electric tea kettle to boil water quickly and prefer cooking with brown rice for the added nutrients. I’m not sure my quick method is as effective as boiling it on the stove as the article suggests but something has got to be better than nothing. For me it’s easier than getting out another pan for the stove.

INGREDIENTS

1 C Lentils (I use 1/2 C green and 1/2 C split red lentils)

4 Cups Water

1 tsp Salt

1 tsp Turmeric

1/2 tsp Cumin Seeds

1/2 tsp Ground Coriander

1 Medium Onion chopped finely

4 Cloves Garlic minced

1 Tbsp Fresh minced Ginger

1  1/2 C Frozen Mango pieces or 2 fresh Mangos, peeled and diced

1/2 C Chopped Raw Cashews

1/2 C chopped cilantro

INSTRUCTIONS

Start by boiling water and measure your rice into a bowl, cover with the boiling water and let sit for a bit. Next, in a large saucepan, add your 4 cups boiling water, turmeric and lentils. Bring to a boil and simmer for 10-15 minutes.

Finely chop your onion, ginger and garlic and set aside. Add cumin seed to a large sauté pan with a large spoonful of coconut oil and cook over medium heat until fragrant and starting to brown, 30 seconds. Next, add the onion and cook until soft and translucent. Add coriander, garlic and ginger stirring for 2-3 more minutes.

Next you’ll slowly pour the lentil/turmeric water mixture into the onion mixture. Add frozen mangos, cover and reduce heat. Cook stirring occasionally until the lentils are falling apart and mango smooshes (official terminology) down.

I serve our Turmeric Mango Daal with cashews and fresh cilantro (or parsley if I have it). It makes a yummy (healthy!) dish that I can get my whole family to eat, especially with the Naan from Trader Joes. Enjoy!