Dahl & Potato Spelt Pies

Serves 4 | Prep time: 1 hr + chilling time | Cooking time: 1 hr 45 mins

INGREDIENTS

Pie Crust

• 2 cups wholegrain spelt flour
• a pinch of salt
• 100g / 3.5oz vegan butter spread (I used Nuttelex)
• 4 Tbsp of iced water

Dhal Filling

• 1 cup split yellow lentils (known was toor dahl)
• 1 cup split red lentils (known as masoor dahl)
• 1 mild green chilli (the larger it is, the milder it tastes)
• 1 large onion, diced
• 2 medium tomatoes, diced
• 2 tsp grated fresh ginger (you could sub for ground ginger)
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• a pinch of salt
• 4 cups water (you may need an additional 1-2 cups)

Fragrant Spices & Potatoes for Dhal Filling

• 1 Tbsp oil
• 2 tsp cumin seeds
• 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
• 5 cloves of garlic, minced
• a small red chill (bird’s eye), if you can handle the heat…(I omitted this!)
• 2 medium potatoes, peeled

METHOD

For the Pie Crust

1. Place the flour and salt in the food processor and pulse to combine.
2. Turn the processor on so it’s running continuously, and add cubes of the vegan butter every 5 seconds or so, letting it combine before you add the next cube (you can just pinch bits off with your fingers. Don’t worry about cutting cubes).
3. After the 100g / 3.5oz of the spread has been added, keep the machine running and add 1 tablespoon at a time of the iced water. When you add the 4th tablespoon of water, it should magically combine into a ball of dough. Voila!
4. Wrap the ball in some cling wrap and place in the fridge to chill.

For the Dhal Filling

1. Place all the ingredients in a large saucepan. Stir, bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and cover with a lid. This will take around an hour to become nice and soft. (The yellow lentils take longer than the red. They’re done when you can squish them between your thumb and forefinger). You may need to add an extra cup or 2 of water to stop it sticking if too much liquid evaporates.

For the Fragrant Spices & Potatoes

1. In a small fry-pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat and then fry the spices, garlic and chilli (if you’re using it) until nicely fragrant. Set this aside.
2. Put the two medium potatoes in a pot of boiling water and let it boil until they’re cooked (usually around 15 minutes, but walk past and stick a knife in them every 5 mins or so and see how they’re coming along).

Assemble the Pies

1. First, pre-heat your oven to 170C / 338F.
2. You’ll need 4 x pie tins. When the dahl is cooked, stir through the fried spices mix.
3. When the potatoes are cooked, take them out of the water and when they’re on dry land, dice them up and add them to the dahl, mix well.
4. Remove the pastry ball from the fridge and divide it into 4. Roll out each little ball and line the pie tins. Top with the dahl/potato mixture and fold the overhanging pastry over the top.
5. Bake the pies for around 45 minutes until golden brown. YUM.