This recipe is one of the first recipes I learned to make. It's originally from my Mum's Woman's Weekly cookbook, but I've adapted it a bit over the years. OK, it might not be the most authentic recipe ever, but it works, it's tasty, and the lentils just collapse in your mouth. Very easy to veganate. It's not super spicy (hello, Woman's Weekly), so if you want to make it a bit more zingy, spicy, whaevery, get in there and change it. Also, if you wanted to add other vegetables to it, I'm sure you could get away with carrot, pumpkins, beans, that kind of malarky - but I kind of like it just plain, myself.
2 1/2 cups (500g) of brown lentils30g butter or oil
2 medium-sized onions, finely chopped
2 small fresh red chilis, finely chopped
1/2 inch of grated ginger
1 teaspoon of ground coriander
1 teaspoon of ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon of garam masala
1/2 teaspoon of ground cardamom (or 6 green cardamom pods)
1/2 a star ainise
2 small cloves of garlic, finely chopped
6 cups (1 1/2 litres) of stock
1 teaspoon of ground tumeric1. Place the lentils in a large bowl. Cover them with water and stand them overnight.
2. Drain the soaked lentils. Chop your onions and chilis, grate your ginger. Melt the butter in a very large saucepan, add the onions and cook until the onions are soft and translucent.
3. Add the chilis, ginger, coriander, cumin, garam masala, caramom and anise. Stir to coat the onions. Mince the garlic, and add to the pot. Stir once or twice. Do not let the garlic brown.
4. Stir in the lentils, and coat them in the spices. Add the stock and tumeric. Bring to the boil, reduce heat, and then simmer for at least 50 minutes, or until the lentils are soft and the mixture is thick to stir.
5. Serve with papadams, rice and a pickle of some description. If you feel possessed by the garnish demon, red chili slices, fresh coriander leaves or a blob of yoghurt are all very nice.
*Dhal can be made a day ahead. It keeps best in an airtight environment in the refrigerator.
*Dhal freezes well, and makes a good lazy night dinner. Try to freeze it in smaller portions so it doesn't take forever to defrost.
*See that up there? That's a green chili. Just deal with it, guys.
