Following on from the dal recipe we cooked in Melbourne, here are the recipes for the chick-pea, rice and salsa accompaniments.  They’re all very simple, but colourful, yummy and gluten free.
All of the recipes serve 4 well as accompaniments

Date and pistachio turmeric-rice
Prep time: 5 minutes assuming we’re working with soaked rice
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients for the rice
400g soaked white basmati
1 teaspoon turmeric powder or grated fresh turmeric
1 handful of pitted dried dates chopped finely
1 handful shelled pistachios bashed in the pestle and mortar
1 grab of finely trimmed coriander leaf
pinch of quality salt
water

Method for the rice
1. Boil the rice to boil in the water, salt and turmeric
2. Just before the rice is ready (approx 9 minutes), drain the rice well then return it to the pan and put the lid on. This helps the rice continue to cook min it’s own steam and become fluffy.
3. add the other ingredients and roll them through the rice and leave to sit in the pan with the lid on to soften and steam for a few minutes before serving. You could squeeze a little lemon or lime in too if you’re feeling fancy.

---

Tangy chickpeas
Prep time: 5 minutes
Cooking time: 10 minutes

Ingredients for the tangy chickpeas
1 tin of chickpeas in water
1/2 onion peeled
1 clove garlic
1 red tomato
1 knob of ginger peeled
1 knob seedless tamarind – soaked, rubbed and squiggled around
1 teaspoon garam masala (choose yours carefully)
1 table spoon of olive oil
pinch of quality salt

Method for the tangy chickpeas
1. Heat the oil in a sauce pan and add the garam masala and salt to release the flavour.
2. Blitz the onion, garlic, tomato, ginger and tamarind in a blender until it’s a paste.
3. Add the paste to the oil in the pan and fire through with some good heat for 5-10 minutes to reduce, darken and intensify.
4. Roll in the chick peas and warm through.

---

Cumin mango salsa
Prep and cooking time: 5 minutes

Ingredients for the salsa
1 tomato diced
1/4 cucumber diced
1/4 mango diced
1 teaspoon cumin
1 pinch of quality salt
(you can also use red onion for extra crunch if you like)

Method for the salsa
1. Toast the cumin seeds lightly to release the flavour in a small sauce pan then put them to the side off the heat.
2. Roll all the ingredients together and sit them in a tub in the fridge to chill and mingle before serving later.

Now have a little dance in the kitchen because you’re about to serve up some super dal and lovely, colourful, nutritious wonder for you and your loved ones.

Please note, we’ve also served ours with a dollop of drumstick pickle. You should also try yoghurt, lime wedges to squeeze, flatbreads, poppadoms and piccalilli.

Enjoy

---