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Left over Dhal burgers

Looking over my recipe notes lentil dhals feature numerous times and when it's "dhal day" usually there are few leftovers , but last night I made a big mis-judgement in quantities and there was a good meal left the next day.
Dhal is nutritious and tasty whatever lentils you use and the high protein easy cook recipe with plenty of flavour is good enough with rice, bread or plenty of steamed veg.
Last night's dhal was made from mung dhal spiced with turmeric, nigella and mustard seeds and some cumin and chili and wanting to adapt the left over dhal into another meal I opted to go down the lentil burger route. The recipe here uses gari , a pre-cooked cassava flour that is a good store cupboard food and great for making things go further and easily reconstituted with a little hot water or added into stews adding thickness and taste. Here's what I did:-

Dhal burger and chicory peanut salad

1. In a bowl put in a handful of gari and add enough hot water to reconstitute to the consistency of mashed potato.

2. To the gari add the leftover dhal with a drizzle of oil and stir together until blended. Add extra seasoning if needed and pour into an oiled baking tray.

3. Bake the dhal mix in a medium oven ( about gas mark 6) until brown and crispy on the edges.

4. Meanwhile toast some red skin peanuts in a dry pan until lightly brown. Leave to cool.

5. Break open and slice two chicory heads and toss into a salad bowl. Mix up a vinaigrette according to Jane's prescription; olive oil, balsamic vinegar,salt and pepper and crushed garlic, pouring over the chicory. Add the peanuts and toss.

6. Remove the baked dhal mix from the oven, slice into shape and serve in a bun or between bread with your favourite relish or fried onion along with a generous helping of chicory peanut salad.

The lentils and peanuts combo is super protein and the toasty spicy flavours mix well with sweet relish, sweet onions and bitter crispness of chicory. You don't need much leftover dhal as the gari adds that extra bit to make a good six burger slices so very economical. If you struggle finding gari you can use instant potato however it tend to be a bit on the wetter side, so try and cook from fresh and mash your own spuds. Yam flours can also be used such as fufu , but this tends to be much more expensive than gari. Why not try gari instead of potatoes as a topping for a vegan cottage pie recipe, its just as good and adds a unique smoky dryness that you find gari seems to hold.

Mind Gardens project

It seems too long since I have blogged but the poor weather has kept me busy struggling to forage food or persevere in the garden. The rainy cold days have allowed me to catch up on study and research and I came across a wonderful project called Mind Gardens I want to share , knowledge reigns supreme!

The mission of Mind Gardens is simple: every child should have access to healthy food. Healthy food nurtures the body and the mind, making access to nutritious food options a crucial part of helping communities to grow and thrive.Launched in Kingston, Jamaica in late 2012, Mind Gardens is a non-profit initiative with the goal of establishing sustainable, organic community gardens that will provide fresh fruits and vegetables to school aged children in the community. Check out the website and take the pledeg to support them:-

http://mindgardens.org/

I've been waiting for this day when we can be inspired by projects like Mind Gardens to encourage communities to come back together and work together for healthy minds and bodies.Growing and eating our own vegetables and fruit gives many opportunities to share food, working partnerships and strength in our communities that can be replicated over and over and supports us in sustainable and economic futures.