This week I decided to go back to my tried and true lentils. Can’t go wrong with these. This recipe is a version of chef Sanjeev Kapoor’s signature dish. This recipe is creamy and hearty as well as spicy. The recipe will only work with the lentil types that are listed, which are urad and moong dal. If you don’t have a well stocked grocery store or ethnic grocery, you can order them online. The recipe version I am using to base my recipe on is from thebrookcook. They decreased the butter in the original recipe by half. The original recipe uses a whole stick. Even with the reduction of butter, the recipe is still high in calories. That can easily be fixed. Even with some of the issues with the recipe, I know I can make a healthier version that still tastes amazing. Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I reduced the butter by half to reduce the calories.
• I replaced the tomato sauce with pumpkin puree to increase the vitamin A and remove the tomato.
• I replaced the heavy cream with coconut cream and reduced it by half to remove the dairy and reduce the calories.
• I added red bell pepper to increase the vitamin C.
• I increased the servings from 6 to 8 to lower the calories

Here is the final recipe:

Lalla Mussa Dal

Serves 8

• 1 cup whole black gram lentils (urad dal)
• 1/4 cup whole green gram lentils (moong dal)
• 2 green chiles, chopped
• 3 red bell peppers, chopped
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, cut into thin strips
• 1/4 cup melted unsalted butter
• 1 15 ounce can pure pumpkin puree
• 2 teaspoons Kashmiri red chili powder, or cayenne
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons crushed dried fenugreek leaves (kasoori methi)
• 16 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1/2 cup coconut cream
• 1/4 teaspoon salt
• 1-inch piece ginger, cut into thin strips, for garnish, as desired
• 1 cup brown Basmati rice