Courgette (Zucchini) Red Lentil Daal {Vegan & GF}

Courgettes or zucchinis are a tasty addition to a classic daal, perfect served with roti flatbreads. Frugal, easy to make, healthy and delicious, this is an excellent way to use up a glut of home grown zucchinis! Vegan and naturally gluten free.

Courgettes or zucchini: whatever you call them, if you or someone you know grows them you have a deep and abiding understanding of the concept of feast or famine. At the time of year when courgettes are in season, there’s no getting away from them: it’s courgette for breakfast, lunch and supper.

Yes, they’re delicious simply fried in butter and oil, but that does get to be a little same-y after a while. So we’re always looking for new ideas and this tasty courgette and red lentil daal is a great addition to the recipe collection.

Now, is it dal, dhal, dahl or daal? However you spell it this savoury lentil based dish is a delicious, spicy staple that’s easy to make. Next, there’s the dilemma of what to serve the daal with. I’ve been enjoying flatbreads made by the rotimatic automatic flatbread machine recently. To read more about our review of the rotimatic, scroll down.

Make brightly coloured rotis by adding beetroot, turmeric or spinach powder.

 How to make Courgette / Zucchini and Red Lentil Daal

First, fry the spices in a little oil until they’re just starting to give off that delicious fragrance.

Second, stir in the lentils, making sure they’re well coated with spice and oil mixture.

Third, add stock. Grate in the garlic and ginger and then simmer the daal for about 20 minutes. Add a little more stock if needed.

Fourth, add the diced zucchini or courgette and simmer for a further few minutes until the courgettes are cooked.

Finally, add a squeeze of lemon juice and serve.

Serve with our easy pilau rice or  spiced flatbread

Our top tip is to keep your ginger in the freezer, and grate it from frozen. No more worries about unused ginger going soft in the fridge!

Rotimatic Automatic Roti Maker Review

Bread machines have been around for a while now, but 25% of the world’s population eat flatbreads, so the usual machine that makes yeasted loaves isn’t much use. This is where the rotimatic comes in. It’s an all in one machine: flour, oil and water go in the top, and perfect rotis cooked from from scratch come out the bottom. The machine measures the ingredients, kneads, and rolls out the rotis before cooking them between two hotplates.

The rotimatic is easy to control, and very adjustable. Rotis can be made to different thicknesses, cooked different amounts and with varying amounts of oil. It learns and improves the rotis the longer it’s in use.

At the moment, as well as rotis, it makes puri ready for cooking on the hob, and individual flatbread pizza bases ready for topping and baking in the oven.

Updates are released every three months: over the rest of the year, programs for tortillas (and also tacos), wraps, gluten free and millet flour are to be released, further increasing the versatility.

The machine connects to your wifi network, and is updated over the internet. This connection also means that rotimatic engineers can fix individual machines remotely. Also, on the rotimatic website, there is a counter showing how many rotis have been made world-wide, with the total standing currently at over sixteen million.

A rotimatic is an investment, with prices starting at US$999, but for those who eat a lot of rotis, (such as the person in the Facebook rotimatic group who’s mother made rotis for seven people, three times a day!), it’s a lifesaver. Think of all that time saved! Also, if you follow the link, you’ll be able to get $75 off your purchase when you order a machine.

The machine is 40cm (width) x 40cm (length) x 32 cm (height), and weighs 20kg so it is quite a sizeable machine. The rotis that come out are a bit smaller: about 13cm across and perfectly round.

As they come out of the machine, they’re still puffed up and very hot. Rip them in half and you can stuff them with the filling of your choice. They are light and soft.

Puris come out of the machine ready for frying in some vegetable oil. When the oil is hot enough, they puff up beautifully. Again, they’re light and soft.

When considering the price, though, it has be remembered that by buying a rotimatic, you’re getting freshest rotis every time, at home. Just think of the savings compared to eating out, or the convenience and health benefits compared to making rotis from scratch everyday or ready meals.

Don’t just take our word for it, though. There are plenty of reviews of the rotimatic on their site. Have a look and see what others think!

Five reasons we love our rotimatic.

It’s so simple. Roti at any meal is is an easy decision: “Would you like a roti with that?” “Yes”. Switch it on, press the buttons and it starts heating up, and produces the first roti a few minutes later. In this climate, the flour, oil and water hoppers can be kept full without any problems. In more humid conditions, the hoppers can be kept in the fridge.

It’s versatile. As well as roti, it will make puri ready to be fried as soon as they emerge from the machine. With updates coming later this year, it will also make tortillas and wraps, and be able to use millet and gluten free flours.

Fancy a pizza? The rotimatic also makes small yeasted pizza bases, all ready for topping and baking.

And we can vary the roti as well. Add spices for a masala, or spinach and onion powder for tasty flavoured roti.  For fun coloured rotis add beetroot, spinach or turmeric powders.

It’s easy to clean. The regular cleaning process takes few minutes; the dirtiest items (the two halves of the kneading cup) can go in the dishwasher. An occasional deeper clean takes only a little longer.

We love rotis even more now that they’re on tap. The rotimatic has made fresh, tasty rotis an everyday staple.

And if you loved working with red lentils, check out my Red Lentil Loaf Recipe!

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4.95 from 18 votes

Courgette and Red Lentil Daal

Courgettes or zucchinis are a tasty addition to a classic red lentil daal, perfect served with roti flatbreads. Frugal, supremely comforting, easy to make, healthy and delicious, this is an excellent way to use up a glut of home grown zucchinis! Vegan and naturally gluten free.

Servings: 2 people

Author: Helen Best-Shaw

Prep Time5 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time25 mins

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp garam masala
• 1 tsp curry powder
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 225 g red lentils
• 225 ml stock
• 1 clove garlic
• 1/2 tsp fresh ginger
• 1 medium courgette ((cubed))
• 1/2 lemon
• 2 sprigs coriander / cilantro

Instructions

• Heat the oil in the pan. Add the spices, stirring all the fry them for a few minutes until they release their aroma.
• Add the lentils and stir for another minute making sure they are well coated with the oil and spice mix.
  
• Take the pan off the heat to add the stock, grate in the garlic and ginger, return to the heat and simmer for 10 mins.
  
• Add the diced courgette and stir in. Simmer for another 10 mins until the lentils are soft, adding more water when needed. The amount of water you need to add will vary according to how much the courgette absorbs.
  
• Add a squeeze of lemon juice to taste - it brightens and lifts the entire dish. 
  
• Serve with roti, other flatbreads, or rice, garnished with chopped coriander leaf (cilantro).
  

Notes

• Freeze ginger root and grate into the daal from frozen.
• Keeps for a few days in the fridge, or make a double batch and freeze.
• Add some extra stock to leftovers and cook for another 10 minutes for a delicious lentil soup.
• Serve with my easy pilau rice.
• This recipe is 15 Weight Watchers Smart Points per portion

• Please note that the nutrition information provided below is approximate and meant as a guideline only.

• Unless stated otherwise cup conversions have been made with an online tool. For accuracy please check with your favoured conversion tool. We recommend buying inexpensive digital kitchen scales.

Nutrition Facts

Courgette and Red Lentil Daal

Amount Per Serving (2 servings)

Calories 508 Calories from Fat 81

% Daily Value*

Fat 9g14%

Saturated Fat 5g31%

Sodium 496mg22%

Potassium 1572mg45%

Carbohydrates 76g25%

Fiber 37g154%

Sugar 7g8%

Protein 31g62%

Vitamin A 635IU13%

Vitamin C 35.5mg43%

Calcium 100mg10%

Iron 10.6mg59%

* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2000 calorie diet.

Course: Light Meal, Side Dish

Cuisine: Indian, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword: rotimatic review

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This post and recipe for Courgette and Red Lentil Daal were sponsored by rotimatic. All opinions are our own. Find out more about rotimatic here: https://rotimatic.com/order-priority-fussfreeflavours This link will give you $75 off the price of a rotimatic