Cooking with Colm O'Gorman: A butternut squash and spinach dhal better than any takeaway
Forget the takeaway with this delicious Indian dahl.
I have never been one for new year’s resolutions. Getting back into the swing of normal life after the holidays is enough of a chore for me without extra demands. I am most certainly not one for new-year diets, but after the excess and rich food of the holidays, I crave simpler food that is nourishing but packed full of flavour. Christmas is often a bit of a meat feast in our house, so by early January, I am craving vegetables and pulses, the sort of food that is warming and nutritious.
My mother used to make fabulous vegetarian curries, and I often hanker after those at this time of year. She would cook them in a big pressure cooker, using potatoes and carrots and whatever other vegetables she had to hand, along with gentle, warming spices, like coriander, cardamom, and cumin. She always added red lentils, so they were more like a hearty dhal than a simple vegetable curry. They were absolutely delicious. The sweetness of the root vegetables with the warm spices and the soft, comforting texture of the dhal was like a big hug in a bowl.
