Lentil, Carrot, and Butternut Squash DAL

I love Indian food but going to an Indian restaurant usually involves lots of rice and lots of unknown ingredients making tracking of my calories/protein difficult.  I still go and enjoy myself, but not as frequently as I might if my weight and health were never issues.  I love Indian spices and decided it was time to make some Dal at home.  This allows me to make a big pot, serve it for dinner and freeze portions for later.  I went searching the internet for recipes, put them all together and came up with one that works for me.  Since lentils are so high calorie I decided to add some carrots and butternut squash to balance it out a bit.  Lots of fiber, a good amount of protein and all sorts of great things for your body by adding the carrots and butternut squash to the lentils.  Please note that I LOVE highly spiced foods so you may want to tone this down and add more spice while it is cooking to your personal taste.

Ingredients:

• 4 medium onions chopped
• Cup of chopped celery
• 6 garlic cloves chopped or minced
• 2 quarts of vegetable broth
• 2 cans of tomatoes (15½ oz cans)
• 2 cups orange lentils
• 2 cups chopped butternut squash
• 1 cup chopped carrots
• 2 Tablespoons ginger
• 2 Tablespoon cumin
• 2 teaspoon black pepper
• 1 bay leaf
• ½ Tablespoon of rice vinegar
• 1 teaspoon cloves
• 2 Tablespoons cardamom
• 1½ Tablespoons coriander
• 1 Tablespoon cinnamon
• 1 Tablespoon dried red chiles
• 1 teaspoon nutmeg

Directions:

1. Spray the bottom of a large pot with olive oil spray (I use my Misto)
2. Sauté the chopped onion and celery just until wilted, not browned. 
3. Add the garlic, lentils, butternut squash, carrots and all of the seasonings. 
4. Sauté for 2-3 minutes until the herbs and spices bloom to a nice aroma. 
5. Add the tomatoes, stir and follow with the rice vinegar. 
6. Add the vegetable broth and bring to a boil. 
7. Lower to a simmer and cook until lentils, squash and carrots are tender, stirring occasionally. 
8. Taste and adjust seasoning as you like it.  (I use cumin, cardamom and the dried red chile peppers to adjust the seasoning)
9. Serve with a dollop of Greek yogurt on top

Recipe makes eight 1½ cup servings at about:

• 266 calories  
• 15 grams of protein. 

Don’t let the comparatively low protein fool you though.  This has lots of fiber so it will be very satisfying.