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Saag Dhal with Wild Carrot Greens

Saag Dhal with Carrot Greens is a modern Fusion recipe for a classic vegan wild curry of split mung beans where the more usual spinach is replaced with wild carrot greens. The full recipe is presented here and I hope you enjoy this classic Fusion version of: Saag Dhal with Wild Carrot Greens.

prep time

5 minutes

cook time

30 minutes

Total Time:

35 minutes

Serves:

4

Rating:

Tags : CurryWild FoodVegetarian RecipesVegan RecipesSpice RecipesBean RecipesFusion RecipesFusion Recipes

Saag Dhal is normally a curry of split mung beans (the dhal or daal) with spinach (the saag). Here I’m replacing the spinach with wild carrot greens, a foraged ingredient that’s available year-round. Just like their domesticated descendants, wild carrot greens are edible. That said, it should be noted that phytophotodermatitis where sap touches the skin and is then exposed to sunlight or UV rays and can cause blistering and irritation. This chemical is destroyed upon cooking. It should also be noted that wild carrots can be confused with a few Umbellifers, particularly Hemlock, so great care must be taken when foraging for this plant. I normally wait for them to flower in summer so I know a patch is safe to eat. Also, crushed leaves and snapped roots of wild carrot do smell strongly of carrot so in that sense they cannot be confused with any other plant.

Ingredients:

300g (2/3 lb) Split mung beans Soaked overnight
150g (1/3 lb) wild Carrot greens (I normally pick the fronds from the midrib and discard that part of the plant)
1 tbsp oil (I used mustard oil)
40g (1/3 cup) curry paste (use your favourite)
1 tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder (for red colour)
1l (4 cups) water
1 tsp Kala namak (Indian black salt)

Method:

Wash and soak the split green mung beans in a large bowl of water over-night.

Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat, add the curry paste and fry for about 5 minutes. This will help cook the spices and improves the depth of flavour. Add the Kashmiri chilli powder, stir in and cook for 1 minute.

Drain the mung beans in a sieve then add to the pot along with the water. Increase the heat and bring to a brisk boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and skim off any foam from the surface. Cover the pot and continue cooking for 20 minutes, until the dhal is almost tender.

In the meantime wash and coarsely chop the wild carrot greens then put in a colander to drain.

Once the beans are almost tender stir in the wild carrot greens. Continue cooking for about 5 minutes, until the dhal has broken down and the mixture is creamy.

Serve hot, accompanied by rice and/or flatbreads.