this is the recipe i make on a rainy afternoon when the windows have steamed up and we've decided not to leave the van. it takes 40 minutes start to finish, uses one pot, and it's better the next day. there's no version of this that doesn't work — even the version where you forget the lemon.
ingredients live in the kitchen drawer cubby for weeks at a time, which is the whole point. dried lentils don't go off. tinned tomatoes don't go off. spices live in their little jars. nothing here needs a fridge except the optional spinach.
what you need (serves two generously, four tightly).
- 200 g red split lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, sliced
- thumb of ginger, grated, or a heaped teaspoon of the dried stuff
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- ½ tsp chilli flakes (or a fresh chilli if you remembered)
- 1 tin (400g) chopped tomatoes
- 800 ml water or vegetable stock
- 2 tbsp oil, or a knob of butter
- salt
- half a lemon
- optional: a handful of spinach or frozen peas; coriander if you have it
method.
oil in the pan, medium heat. cumin seeds in. let them pop for thirty seconds — you want the kitchen smelling of them before you add anything else.
onion in. six or seven minutes till soft and just colouring at the edges. don't rush this bit.
garlic, ginger, chilli — one minute, stirring, watching the garlic. if it browns it's done. take it off the heat for a second if you have to.
turmeric and garam masala straight in the dry pan. thirty seconds, stirring. you're waking the spices up. the pan goes orange.
tomatoes in. cook them down four or five minutes till the oil starts to come out the side of the sauce — that's how you know the tomato is done.
lentils, water or stock, a big pinch of salt. bring it up to a simmer, lid half on, then leave it alone for 25 to 30 minutes. stir every few minutes — they catch on the bottom of a thin pan if you don't. if it's looking thick, add a splash of water.
when the lentils have collapsed into a soft slop, add the spinach or peas if you're using them. two minutes. off the heat. squeeze the lemon over. coriander if you have it. taste for salt.
the tarka, if you can be bothered.
in a small pan, oil + a sliced clove of garlic + a teaspoon of cumin + a pinch of chilli. let the garlic go gold and the cumin sizzle. tip the lot over the dal at the table. it hisses. people notice. it takes three minutes and it makes the whole thing.
on the road.
no fresh garlic? granules. no ginger? dried. no tinned tomatoes? a squeeze of purée and an extra splash of water. yellow split peas instead of red lentils need an hour and more liquid; only swap if you've got the time. don't skip the lemon — it's the thing that makes it taste like dal and not stew.
eat it with rice if you've packed any, or torn-up flatbread warmed dry on the hob, or just out the pan with a spoon. cold beer if you remembered it. yoghurt if you didn't. — c.