Emerald dhal with golden tofu
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
Photograph by Ant Duncan
Emerald dhal with golden tofu
A vibrant curry that feels both virtuous and indulgent thanks to the velvety spinach, creamy coconut yogurt and crispy tofu. You can speed up prep time by using two packs of ready-to-eat beluga or Puy lentils instead of dried
Serves: 4-6
Prep time: 40 minsTotal time: 
See more recipes
Nutritional information (per serving)
Calories
491Kcal
Fat
25gr
Saturates
8gr
Carbs
39gr
Sugars
10gr
Fibre
17gr
Protein
19gr
Salt
0.6gr
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Tamsin Burnett-Hall
Tamsin learned the tricks of the trade from cookery legend Delia Smith. A trusted recipe writer for the magazine for over 25 years, she is now our Senior Food Producer, overseeing testing and editing to ensure that every recipe tastes great, is straightforward to follow and works without fail. In her home kitchen, Tamsin creates fuss-free flavour-packed food for friends and family, with baking being her ultimate form of comfort cooking
See more of Tamsin Burnett-Hall’s recipes
Ingredients
For the dhal
- 200g dried Puy lentils, rinsed
- 2-2½ tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 large onions, thinly sliced
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 large garlic cloves, crushed
- 25g grated root ginger
- 1 green chilli, deseeded and diced
- ½ tsp ground cinnamon
- 1 tsp brown mustard seeds
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 x 400g tin lighter coconut milk
- 500g frozen whole leaf spinach
- juice of 1 lime
For the toppings
- 1 x 280g or 300g pack extra-firm tofu
- juice of ½ lime
- ½ tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala (or ground cumin)
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 2 tbsp cornflour
- ½ x 30g pack coriander, chopped
- 4-6 tbsp dairy-free coconut yogurt
Step by step
Get ahead
Make the dhal ahead, but leave out the lime juice until ready to serve (so that the spinach stays vibrant). Chill for up to 3 days, or freeze. Reheat with a splash of water
- Tip the rinsed lentils into a saucepan and cover with at least 3 times their depth of boiling water. Cover, bring to the boil and simmer for 20 minutes or until tender. Drain and rinse with cold water.
- Meanwhile, heat 2 tablespoons of oil in a deep sauté pan or casserole and fry the onions with a pinch of salt on a medium-high heat for 8 minutes or until softened and starting to colour.
- For the topping, drain the tofu and cut into roughly 2cm dice. Toss with the lime juice, turmeric and garam masala, plus plenty of seasoning. Set aside to marinate.
- Return to the dhal: scoop half of the softened onions out to a bowl, add the cumin seeds to the ones left in the pan and cook for 2-3 minutes over a high heat, stirring, until caramelised. Remove to a separate bowl then reduce the heat under the pan and add the earlier batch of onions back to the pan along with the garlic, ginger and chilli. Cook gently for about 2 minutes then mix in all of the dhal spices and cook for 1 minute, stirring, until fragrant; if the mixture is looking too dry, add a little more oil.
- Add the coconut milk and the spinach to the pan with a good pinch of salt, cover and bring to a simmer. Cook for 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the spinach has defrosted. Blitz the mixture to a smooth, bright green purée (this is easiest with a handheld blender). Stir in the drained lentils and lime juice, then season the dhal to taste. Heat through gently.
- When almost ready to serve, heat 1 tablespoon of oil in a large frying pan. Add the cornflour to the marinated tofu and toss to coat, then fry in the hot oil for 5-6 minutes until crisp on all sides.
- Spoon the dhal into shallow bowls and top with the golden tofu, the cumin-fried onions, coriander and a dollop of coconut yogurt.
