Dhal Recipe £1 a day

strangeotron

People are trying to live on £1 a day for a challenge. My weekly food/household (eg when i need a new toothbrush or detergent) budget is about £13-15. People tell me Dhal is easy to cook, yet every recipe i've found requires spices and ingredients that are anything but cheap to find. Where are some cheap healthy dhal recipes please.

dogstarheaven

packets of Indian spices from Asian grocers or in places like a big Tesco/Asda within an area of ethnic populations in a city, say are around £1 a pop. you'll only need cumin, coriander, cinnamon, curry powder, chilli, garam masala. buy the 1st 3 and garam masala. and they're all you need to make dhal and curries. and these should last you for a long time.

recipe:

finely chopped onion
garlic x 2 cloves and thumb size peeled root ginger - minced (or from a jar)
tsp of cumin, coriander, garam masla and a pinch of cinnamon
200g lentil (red or green)

saute onion till soft and add garlic/ginger paste. add spices. mix. add lentil. stir in till all is coated in spice mixture. add hot stock. cook on med-low heat for 30mins. it's done and eaten with rice or naan/chapati and salad.

you can add interest to the dish with mushrooms, peas or other veg, but that depends whether you want to stretch your budget tho'. this should cost less than 50p per batch (this should serve 4portions)

Callie22

My recipe is similar to dogstarheaven's, but I use just garam masala, and add a tin of chopped tomatoes too. I also add some fresh spinach and another pinch of garam masala just before serving, but the spinach might take it over budget.

strangeotron

500g of lentils is 90p in Tesco (which unfortunately i don't live anywhere near and so I have to spend half my food budget to get to the place).

Callie22

Do you live anywhere near an Indian corner shop or similar? They often have lentils and pulses that are really cheap.

dogstarheaven

Callie22 wrote: »

My recipe is similar to dogstarheaven's, but I use just garam masala, and add a tin of chopped tomatoes too. I also add some fresh spinach and another pinch of garam masala just before serving, but the spinach might take it over budget.

you can get away with just garam masala and garlic to go with the lentils (just these 3 ingred) when i used to go solo backpacking, carrying foodstuffs was v limited and dhal was probably the only cooked dish i made for myself that was quick and easy to make. but for added flavour and authenticity, the other spices and an onion would be nicer. i've not heard of tomatoes for a dhal dish, tho'..

strangeotron

Callie22 wrote: »

Do you live anywhere near an Indian corner shop or similar? They often have lentils and pulses that are really cheap.

I'm afraid not. I have no idea what garam masala is.

A 50g lunch doesn't sound like a very filling meal either. I normally have 10g wholeweat pasta for lunch

VfM4meplse

Here we go again...:whistle:

Indian food is tasty, filling and extremely economical to make. To get any value out of it you will have to do exactly what Indians in the UK do, that is bite the bullet and accept you will have to invest to save, make one trip to your nearest Asian grocer and buy in bulk quantities. It may cost you well over your weekly budget at first, but a little goes a very long way and you will be eating from it for months if not years. So the savings in the long run will be well worth it.

I have done the same and now rarely spend as much as £5 a week on food, if that. Cooking in bulk and freezing also helps a lot.

strangeotron

VfM4meplse wrote: »

Here we go again...:whistle:

Indian food is tasty, filling and extremely economical to make. To get any value out of it you will have to do exactly what Indians in the UK do, that is bite the bullet and accept you will have to invest to save, make one trip to your nearest Asian grocer and buy in bulk quantities. It may cost you well over your weekly budget at first, but a little goes a very long way and you will be eating from it for months if not years. So the savings in the long run will be well worth it.

I have done the same and now rarely spend as much as £5 a week on food, if that. Cooking in bulk and freezing also helps a lot.

I don't have an asian grocer nearby; i don't live in a city. I don't have the money spare to invest in that way. That is the problem with benefit payments. You simply don't have the wiggle room. This would mean doing without regular food for at least a week which is of course out of the question. It might seem practical to suggest this, but the people that do are not in the same financial position. I think a lot of the people who advocate thrift forget this and are a little disingenuous. The same can be said for this £1 a day challenge: if you are buying a ton of food in bulk before hand, you are cheating the challenge!

nuatha

strangeotron wrote: »

I'm afraid not. I have no idea what garam masala is.

A 50g lunch doesn't sound like a very filling meal either. I normally have 10g wholeweat pasta for lunch

Garam masala is a blend of spices, together they give a rounded intense flavour, though they usually add little in the way of heat (effectively they are are mild curry blend).
Dahls can be made with yellow split peas if these are easier to find. They would keep in a fridge for a couple of days and freeze well.
Red lentils are very versatile and are worth experimenting with, they are a good cheap protein source, can stretch various dishes and with carrots make a very tasty soup.
Last time I bought red lentils from Tesco they were £2 for 2Kg in the world food aisle (as well as 90p for 500g on the other shelves).
I'd allow 75g of lentils per person and serve with bread or rice. (Chapati are very easy and cheap to make) and I'd expect to have leftovers.
HTH

VfM4meplse

strangeotron wrote: »

I think a lot of the people who advocate thrift forget this and are a little disingenuous.

Do you really not have as little as £100 put by?