Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower

I love Indian and Thai cuisine, or this Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower is precisely a recipe inspired by these two cuisines: the curry paste is inspired by Thai cuisine and the grilled chickpeas and cauliflower, they come from Indian cuisine. The combination of the two is delicious!

I served this Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower with Homemade Naans.

What is a Dal?

The dal also called dahl or dhal, is a dish of Indian and Pakistani cuisine. It is mainly prepared from pulses including chickpeas, lentils, beans or peas. These are then seasoned with many spices such as coriander seeds, cumin, garlic, ginger, chili and other spices.

Normally, dal is cooked for several hours which melts the pulses and creates a dish between the soup and the mash. For the following recipe, I chose a quick version with cooking in just 20 minutes. The chickpeas therefore remain crunchier than in a classic dal.

If like me you love curries, check out my other curry recipes:

• Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry
• Kale and Chickpea Curry
• Vegetarian Thai Green Curry

Recipe for Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower

For 3 to 4 servings you need the following ingredients.

Ingredients For the dal

• 400g chickpeas, canned precooked
• 400 ml coconut milk
• Neutral coconut oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of fish sauce or a pinch of salt for a vegan version
• 1 lime

For the curry paste

• 1 tablespoon of red curry paste * (see my recipe Homemade Thai red curry paste )
• 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds
• 2 Thai red chilis, fresh
• 4 cm of fresh ginger
• 1 sprig of fresh lemongrass, the white part only
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 small Thai shallots or 1/2 shallot
• 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons of paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoons of neutral oil, peanut or sunflower oil

* I decided to mix my Homemade Thai red curry paste with other spices to obtain a curry paste with even more flavor but it is not mandatory. If you didn’t have curry paste, double the amount of all other ingredients.

For the grilled cauliflower

• 1 cauliflower
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• Neutral oil, peanut or sunflower oil

Preparation

Preheat the oven to 175 ° C. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Place it on a baking sheet. Add a drizzle of neutral oil, cumin and paprika powder. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven.

Meanwhile, prepare the curry paste. Chop roughly the ginger, fresh chilis, garlic and lemongrass.

Place everything in a bowl and add the curry paste, lime zest, half the juice, paprika and turmeric powder. Add the neutral oil. Mix everything using a blender or a mortar and pestle. You will get an orange paste.

Heat a little neutral oil in a wok. Add the curry paste and brown for two minutes. Then deglaze with a little coconut milk and disolve the curry paste that may have stick on the bottom of the wok. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk.

Then add the previously drained chickpeas. Cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Season with the fish sauce. Finally add a dash of lime juice.

Serve the dal with the grilled cauliflower.

Note

You can serve this dal with basmati rice or / and homemade Naans.

If you liked this recipe, check out my latest recipes:

• Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower
• Hummus, Tomato, Mozzarella Toast
• Homemade Nutella – 4 ingredients, no bake
• Crispy Smashed potatoes
• 5 decoration ideas for madeleines!

You have a question or you just liked this recipe ? Leave me a comment!

Print Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower

Course Main course

Cuisine Asian, Indian

Diet , , ,

Prep Time 15 minutes

Cook Time 20 minutes

Servings 4

Calories

Ingredients

For the dal

• 400 g chickpeas canned precooked
• 400 ml coconut milk
• Neutral coconut oil
• 1 to 2 tablespoons of fish sauce or a pinch of salt for a vegan version
• 1 lime

For the curry paste

• 1 tablespoon of red curry paste * see my recipe Homemade Thai red curry paste
• 2 tablespoons of coriander seeds
• 2 Thai red chilis fresh
• 4 cm of fresh ginger
• 1 sprig of fresh lemongrass the white part only
• 2 cloves garlic
• 2 small Thai shallots or 1/2 shallot
• 1 lime
• 2 tablespoons of paprika powder
• 1 teaspoon of turmeric powder
• 2 tablespoons of neutral oil peanut or sunflower oil

For the grilled cauliflower

• 1 cauliflower
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon paprika powder
• Neutral oil peanut or sunflower oil

Instructions

• Preheat the oven to 175 ° C. Cut the cauliflower into florets. Place it on a baking sheet. Add a drizzle of neutral oil, cumin and paprika powder. Bake for 20-25 minutes in the oven.
• Meanwhile, prepare the curry paste. Chop roughly the ginger, fresh chilis, garlic and lemongrass.
• Place everything in a bowl and add the curry paste, lime zest, half the juice, paprika and turmeric powder. Add the neutral oil.
• Mix everything using a blender or a mortar and pestle. You will get an orange paste.
• Heat a little neutral oil in a wok. Add the curry paste and brown for two minutes.
• Then deglaze with a little coconut milk and disolve the curry paste that may have stick on the bottom of the wok. Pour in the rest of the coconut milk.
• Then add the previously drained chickpeas. Cook for 10-15 minutes over medium heat. Season with the fish sauce. Finally add a dash of lime juice.
• Serve the dal with the grilled cauliflower.

Notes

You can serve this dal with basmati rice or / and homemade Naans.

Chickpea Dal with Grilled Cauliflower