Dhal Tadka

15 minutes prep, 1 hour cook

Serves 4

Ingredients

400g red lentils or yellow split mung peas or peas, soaked and drained if you have time 1.5 litres water

For the tadka spice mix:

3 tbsps ghee or coconut oil

4 shallots, finely sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

1 tbsp ground almonds

Juice of 1 lime

1 tbsp tomato purée

1 tsp freshly grated or ground turmeric

1 tsp salt

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp freshly grated or ground ginger

1 tsp ground coriander red chilli (or more to taste), finely chopped

1 tsp coconut sugar

To Serve:

Fresh coriander

Naan (optional)

Raita (optional)

Method

Put the lentils in a large saucepan with the water. Bring to the boil and skim off any foam that rises to the surface with a spoon. Let the lentils boil for 35– 50 minutes, adding more water if it dries up. Keep adding water to achieve the desired consistency. When the lentils are dissolved and creamy, remove the pan from the heat.

To make the tadka, heat a saucepan over a medium heat and add 2 tablespoons ghee or coconut oil. Sauté the shallots, garlic and almonds over a low heat until the shallots are golden and transparent. Let the shallots sweat and release their juices rather then get too crispy. Add another tablespoon of ghee or coconut oil with the rest of the spice paste ingredients and stir fry for another 3 minutes before removing from the heat.

Reserving a small amount of the tadka for topping, blend the rest of the mixture to a smooth paste with a few tablespoons water. Before serving, bring the dhal to a simmer and mix in the tadka. Remove from the heat and serve with fresh coriander. You can make this a bigger meal by adding raita and naan bread.