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.
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.
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.
- 1 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp curry powder
- 1 tsp tumeric powder
- 8 oz red lentils
- 1/2 pint stock
- 1 courgette cubed
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Heat the oil in the pan. Add the spices, stirring all the fry them for a few minutes until they release their aroma.
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Add the lentils and stir for another minute.
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Take the pan off the heat and add the stock, and simmer for 10 mins.
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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.
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Serve with roti, other flatbreads, or rice.
- 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.
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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
Amber Shea @Almost Vegan
I LOVE a good dal.
I also agree with you on food ethics :]
Helen
Such a tasty dish and so simple.
jodye @ 'scend food
I love the many spellings of dahl (I guess that’s the one I immediately think of), but I love how delicious it is even more! This sounds delicious and looks super easy. I shall certainly be giving this a go!
Helen
So easy to make, and tasty every time.
Sarah P
Love daal and will save this for when my courgettes start to grow, and grow, and grow…
That roti machine looks AMAZING!
Helen
the rotimatic is very impressive!
Danielle Wolter
I love the tip about the ginger! I’m going to have to try that. And I’m totally intrigued by the rotimatic (I’m a sucker for kitchen gadgets). I love your post, the step by steps instructions are awesome. And this sound like a delicious recipes, great flavors!
Helen
I was really impressed by the Rotimatic.
Alyssa
THAT ROIT! OMG, they are beautiful. I don’t make roti from scratch very often but I may have to try making these roti (by hand since I don’t have a machine) just to see the pretty colors in person.
Helen
You can certainly make them by hand too, all very pretty.
Suki
I love that the Rotimatic learns as it goes. Just like making roti by hand, the first is never the best and they get better as you progress. Really liking the sound of this helping hand, what a great idea.
Helen
I found it really helpful, and less time spent at the hob rolling and turning.
Fiona Garret
I love making daal, and add whatever I have in at the time. Courgettes is a great addition. The roti making machine is brilliant. Being able to make the dough and roll out, AND cook perfectly.
Helen
Very impressive machine, Fiona.
Mal
Really tasty recipe, you can’t fault a simple dhal. So easy to make and I tend to find I have leftovers for the next day (that always taste better). The Rotimatic would be a great addition to the kitchen.
Helen
Next day daal is always so tasty, good on baked potato I find.
Maggie T
That machine looks amazing! I love my bread machine, throwing the ingredients in and letting it do its work. To be able to make flat bread is a really useful thing. Even does pizza bases. Fab.
Helen
A great addition to the kitchen, very useful.
Mel Jones
I love courgette season, even if you do have to eat it for breakfast! Such a versatile vegetable. Great use of them in your daal recipe.
The Rotimatic looks excellent, what a useful piece of equipment.
Helen
I’m not so sure about courgettes for breakfast.
The Rotimatic is great, very useful.
Demeter
Looks like such a flavorful meal! The Rotimatic really does all the work….how cool! I need to check out!
Helen
The Rotimatic is brilliant, really useful.
Julia
That daal looks delicious! And what? There is such a thing as flatbread making machine? Wow! :)
Helen
Perfect rotis every time!
Ruthy @ Percolate Kitchen
Those roti are so cute, dying over all the different colors!! I gotta check out that rotimaker.
Helen
We love the rotimatic! and the coloured rotis are just for fun!
Darla F
I do like having roti with Indian food, such a good accompaniment. Never tried making them before, so would love a machine that can do the work for me.
Helen
Homemade roti are delicious Darla.
Mia Robb
Daal is such a good wholesome meal. I love dishes made with lentils, so tasty and always fills me up.
Helen
We love lentils too, so good.
Mandy
The rotimatic looks brilliant. Love the colours you have made. Wish my attempts at any flat bread making had been as successful.
Helen
The machine makes it easy.
Dave
Great looking bread machine for making roti. If I had the room in my kitchen it would be a nice addition. Unfortunately, my kitchen is a broom cupboard.
Helen
You need a bigger kitchen, Dave.
Balbir S
Dahl is such an easy meal to make, and good for making a large amount of. I like adding small aubergine, but courgette sounds very nice.
Helen
Aubergine sounds delicious too.