Yellow Dal

It's another chilly Friday filled with reading for school, but I don't mind because I started my day off with a free yoga class from the Lexington Healing Arts Academy. Now that I have read some scripture, focused my mind and body, and made some simple dal, I can sit down with my tea and read about American diplomacy/negotiating strategy.

If you are like me and have been neglecting the "third pillar" of physical fitness (cardiovascular/aerobic, muscular strength/endurance, and flexibility), yoga is a great way to relieve stress and work on flexibility at the same time. I also find that, when I include it as part of my morning routine, it helps me to be more in touch with my body throughout the day. What does being "in touch with my body" mean? When I use that phrase, I mean being able to hear and identify what my body is asking for, whether it be more or less of a specific type of food/nutrition or a kind of movement (running, dancing, strength training, or a walk at the arboretum).

Believe it or not, now that I have been trying to listen to what my body wants and have given myself permission to follow those requests for over a year, I actually find that I crave things like carrots much more than ice cream. I always thought that if I ate what I truly wanted, I would eat nothing but cookies and cake, but it has been the the opposite. Of course, I still love a good dessert and eat them at least once a day, but I find I am satisfied with smaller amounts and do not "crave" them in a frightening way like I used to.

Preparing the onions, garlic, and masala.

Cooking the yellow split peas.

Time to mix the onion mixture and yellow split peas together. It smells so good!

Simplest Yellow DalFrom Whole Foods

1 cup yellow split peas
3 cups water
½ teaspoon sea salt, more to taste
2 cups chopped yellow onion, divided
2 tablespoons olive oil
3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 teaspoons garam masala
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
Whole wheat naan, for serving (no longer gluten free if you serve with naan, btw)

Rinse peas and soak in water for 10 minutes. Drain, rinse and place in a medium saucepan with water, salt and ½ cup of the onion. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat, cover, and simmer until the peas are tender, 45 to 50 minutes.

While the split peas are cooking, heat oil in a skillet and sauté the remaining onion with garlic and garam masala over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until they are golden, soft, and just beginning to brown, 10 to 15 minutes.

Add the onion mixture to the cooked peas, stirring to combine. Simmer 10 to 15 minutes to blend flavors. Taste and adjust seasoning with salt and pepper.

Serves 4 to 6.