CSA week 12: Dal with swiss chard

Red lentil dal with swiss chard. I made this using some leftover frozen curry base from a paneer makhani recipe that I made a few weeks. I simply boiled about a cup of lentils for a few minutes (red lentils are quick), stirred in some chopped swiss chard along with about a cup of sauce and some salt and lemon juice, and then cooked it for another few minutes until the chard was soft.

The curry base is made by sauteeing some roughly chopped onions, hot pepper, garlic, and ginger with some cumin, mustard, and coriander seeds (I usually partially crush them) and some salt (and optionally some chopped cashews to add some thickness and richness). Once everything is carmelized, add in some chopped or canned tomatoes and vegetable broth along with some curry powder and simmer for about a half hour to thicken it up. Then puree the whole thing in a food processor, adding coconut milk until you get a good balance of sweet/spicy. Adjust the salt and spices. You can turn this into curry but sauteeing some veggies until al dente and then simmering them in the sauce until they get soft, or make paneer curry by tossing in some browned paneer cubes, or stir it into lentils as I did in this recipe.