When I created this dish I was in need of colour, spice, something to pierce through the bleak blanket of winter. It was obvious: punchy heat in fire-engine red in the form of a spicy tomato dal.
Ingredients
—2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil 1 large onion, peeled and chopped finely 1 Tbsp crushed coriander seeds 1 Tbsp toasted and ground cumin 1 tsp chilli powder 2x 400g (14 oz) cans chopped tomatoes 1½ cups red lentils, washed just before cooking 2½ cups boiling water Salt Plain unsweetened yoghurt 1 cup chopped coriander (cilantro)
Method
—Although yesterday was stunning, Auckland this winter has been wet and stormy, full of grey shadows, leaves twisting in the wind and just a few peeps of the sun sneaking through. When I created this dish I was in need of colour, spice, something to pierce through the bleak blanket of winter. It was obvious: punchy heat in fire-engine red in the form of a spicy tomato dal. Or dahl, or dhal. Whichever way you spell it, it’s what you need to cheer you up.
I’d intended serving the dish with a humongous bowl of basmati rice but upon opening the pantry of earthly delights, I found a relatively sparse ‘grains’ supply – sushi rice it was! I threw the rice into the rice cooker with water as one usually does and hoped for the best… and to be fair, it worked out absolutely fine. Some might call this a side attempt at ‘fusion’ cuisine, hah. I just think it’s colourful. Be sure to wash the lentils just before cooking or they will stick together. You don’t want that! Happy feastage.
1 Heat oil in a medium-sized saucepan over gentle heat and add onion. Cook gently until tender. If onion begins burning but it’s not yet tender, add some warm water to stop it catching.
2 Add the coriander seeds, ground cumin and chilli powder. Stir until fragrant then add the tomatoes, lentils and water. Turn heat to low, partially cover with a lid and simmer away until lentils are cooked and tender, about 30 minutes but could be more, or could be less. Stir often towards the end of cooking because it can start to catch on the bottom of the pan.
3 Season with salt – you’ll need plenty to bring out the flavour. Serve with yoghurt and HEAPS of fresh coriander.
Recipe notes
Put lentils in a sieve and rinse well under running water. Do this just before cooking them or they’ll stick together.
Lentils, when served with rice, form a complete protein as all the amino acids are present. All you need is yoghurt and masses of fresh coriander strewn atop the dahl and you’ve got dinner.
Would you please include wayer with tomatoes and lentils in the instructions? There’s a lot of writing between the list of ingredients and the method, and it’s easy to be pondering about the thick lentil mixture, before checking back on the ingredients. Might be just me, but there might be other dummies out there.
Yummy, loved it ?
I shall look for that going forward Yvonne. In fact, book editors do like you to include water if it is measured in the ingredient list … I just smacked my hand and will be a good girl going forward!