The foods that save me: dal in the freezer
Posted by kathryn in A Balanced Diet
Either Richard or I make dal about once a month. It’s a meal we both love. Usually we make up huge pots of the stuff, eat it for a couple of days and then put the rest in the freezer.
And in my recent super-busy period, having a freezer full of dal was the second food that saved me.
The goodness of dal
Dal is hearty, warming, luscious comfort food. It’s cheap to make, and rich in protein, carbohydrates, minerals and fibre. Basically it’s chockablock full of the goodness of legumes.
And after a long day, when your brain is a bit fried, if you have a dal in the freezer you will still eat well.
Over the last few weeks we’ve
- had our dal straight
- eaten up the too watery batch we made, as soup
- served it with yoghurt and chutney
- had a mini salad of cucumber and tomato on the side
It also helps that Richard and I make our dal in different ways. I tend to favour using mung dal (split mung beans), while Richard oscillates between urad, chana and masoor (split red lentils). I like to mix mine up with cabbage or roasted vegetables, whereas Richard is much more traditional. We use different spice combinations and make the dal in different consistencies.
And while it’s from the freezer, defrosted and re-heated, dal isn’t a second-class meal.
Freezer backups
When you’re busy it pays to have some trusty back ups in the freezer. For us it’s dal, but it could also be soup, stews and plenty of other dishes.
These provide instant, nutritious meals when you’re busy – and are worth their weight in gold.
Our dal stocks are now depleted, so cooking a new batch is a job for the long weekend.
What’s this all about?
This is the first in a series of posts about the foods which save me when I’m super-busy. It’s a companion piece to my post on how I make it easy to eat well.
19 March, 2008
Comments
I often make dal, particularly a quick spiced one with tomatoes – but I’ve never frozen it, partly because I thought the texture might suffer. But now I will
Thanks for sharing
Joanna
Yum, dal is great fast, comfort food. I nearly always make my own version with red lentils and butternut squash these days but I’m ready to branch out for a more summery version.
I’ve just learnt how to make chappati/roti ( a great accompaniment) and I’m amazed at how quick and easy they are to make
Yum, I always have dahl in the freezer too! I love to eat it as a watery soup then when it thickens in the fridge use it on wholemeal pita for a nutritious lunch. And I always customise it with whatever vegies are hanging around at the time – the addition of spinach or sweet potatoes is always good. Cheap, tasty, healthy – I love it.
Joanna, I often put fresh tomatoes in mine – and yes, it freezes really well.
Sophie – roti – I am impressed. At the moment they are beyond me.
Lisa, spinach is also a great option. One of my favourite meals is to have dal with beetroot curry. Although that hasn’t happened in my super-busy work period!
dahl is such a great easy and comforting food – is great to see how you use it – I tend to put in lots of vegetables and am still planning to try it with the panch phoran (?) spices! I am more likely to have soup in the freezer than dahl but often it is just a combo vegies and legumes without all the spice
There’s almost always something bean-y in my freezer. Dal, lentil soup or stew, chickpea fritters – or just soaked and cooked beans ready for use. Dal with panchporan – I’ve never tried that combination. I hope you’re going to blog the result Johanna?
Hi there
I just came accross your blog thanks to stumbleupon and I am loving the food pics that you have, they are all so bright and full of colour. I started off as a blogger myself a year ago and loved talking to other food bloggers around the world so much that I wanted to find a way of more people sharing photos and meeting other foodies. I used to get annoyed that I would be making so many great recipe videos and food photos and hardly anybody would see them! That is when I came up with www.ifoods.tv which is a new site for foodies all around the world to share food photos, recipes and videos as well as meeting other foodies. We are only starting off and are currently a small community but I would love to see you there sharing some of your amazing photos with other foodies! Keep up the good work on the blog and hope to talk soon.
Cheers!
I love your site and am a big fan of your lentil and barley soup!
I was just wondering if 2 eggs a day is too much?
Anita – thanks for the feedback and glad to hear you’re enjoying the lentil & barley soup. The answer to the 2 eggs a day question is . . . it depends. Depends on what else you’re eating, how much other saturated fat you have in your diet and whether you have a pre-exising cholesterol problem.
I love eggs, think they’re a great food. Eat quite a few myself. But am counter-balancing that with very little other saturated fat in my diet; plenty of wholegrains & legumes; and plenty of vegetables.
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