MotherFood Cooking Course: exclusive preview

Today I am launching my first ever online cooking course dedicated to maternal wellbeing through food.
It’s been a long time coming, ever since i’ve found myself completely lost and alienated in the kitchen having given birth to my first child. The idea came right then and there as I thought ‘I wish I’d known how hard it would be’. Two years later, here I am, offering you - MotherFood - a course to support you and to offer you a sense of community through food. Find out more about the course and help spread the word as I am sure there is a mama out there who will find comfort and reassurance in this course.

Here is a versatile recipe for a Dal which is a staple in my kitchen. It is an amazing warming and grounding dish during the cold season, and in many Eastern traditions postpartum is perceived that same way, regardless of what time of year it is, as your body needs all the sustenance, warming comfort and strength possible. The dal works really well as a weaning dish too, as it introduces your child to textures and warming spices, is mega nutritious. The best part about this dish, though, is that it’s made in ONE POT! A winner for me for sure!

Serves 4-6
2 tbsp of coconut oil
1 tsp of mustard seeds
1 bay leaf
1 onion peeled and diced
3 garlic cloves, peeled and diced
1 thumb of ginger, peeled and finely diced or grated
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp turmeric powder
3-4 medium carrots, peeled and diced
1/2 butternut squash, peeled, cored and diced
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
250g red lentils
500-600ml of stock (you can use the chicken stock recipe from lesson 1, or a stock cube)
salt to taste

Method

Heat up the oil in a large casserole or a pot. 
Fry to the mustard seeds and the bay leaf for a few seconds until it starts popping and releases the aroma.
Add the onion, ginger and garlic, as well as all the spices and two pinches of fine salt. 
Fry for 8-10 minutes, adding more oil and a few dashes of water to prevent the spices from burning.
Next add the diced carrots and cook under a lid for 5 minutes.
Add the squash, sweet potato and the lentils. Give it a good stir. 
Cover with the stock. Place the lid back on and let it cook for 35-40 minutes, stirring occasionally and adding more water if the stew thickens too much or starts burning at the bottom.
Remove the bay leaf and roughly mash using a stick blender to get a mixed consistency of smooth and chunky.
Give it another good stir and get ready to serve.

serving suggestions
Top with coconut or dairy yoghurt, tahini paste, harissa, nigella seeds, soft boiled egg and some fresh dill

variations
You can use yellow lentils too, as well as any other root vegetables here (turnip, swede, parsnip). Feel free to add some chickpeas as well as spinach if you want to increase the nutrient value.

baby weaning ideas
There is no reason why your baby can’t be exposed to fragrant spices like cumin and coriander early on, so let them enjoy it! You can however omit or reduce the ginger and garlic if you would like to serve this dish at stage 1 of weaning. Similar for the salt, and you can season your own portions with salt after cooking. If you’d like to blend this into a puree for stage 1 take out the needed amount and blend until smooth. The original texture would work really well for stages 2 and 3.