Masoor dhal -- a red lentil curry.

All recipes copyright Anna Vaught.

Simple and fine spiced red lentils --masoor dhal.


Now, thanks to the Indian influence on the family, I was eating this from an early stage. It's simple, good for you and deeply satisfying. And did I say cheap and open to rather a lot of variation, too? In the picture above, you can see how I made a rather thick dhal. It seemed required for that particular day. Usually, though, I prefer it more as a soup -- my favourite being one soured with tamarind and with the addition of tomato. Now we're heading for South India -- detail on which you'll have to wait for!

I digress...

Here is how I made the dhal -- the word refers to legumes-- the other night. This is really North Indian stylie. It is traditional to cook the lentils with only turmeric and salt and then to finish them off by popping spices in hot oil and then adding them to the finished dhal. But here is another way of doing it which is, inauthentically, how we have done it my family.

Get 1 kg of red lentils, rinse and pick them over. The day you don't bother is the day you crack someone's tooth with a small stone. Leave to drain. Meanwhile, fry off, in hot oil or ghee (clarified butter), 1 dessertspoon of yellow mustard seeds (or you could use brown) and then 2 tablespoons each of ground cumin, coriander and then one chopped red chilli. I would also add a dessertspoon of turmeric. You could also add very finely chopped garlic and ginger to taste -- say two cloves and then a thumbnail-sized piece of ginger?

So, fry the spices gently until they smell roasted and delicious. Oh -- if you're using garlic and ginger, cook these to soften for a couple of minutes before you add the spices. Be very careful when you are frying the spices: once they are even just a little burnt, they will be bitter. Then add the lentils, stir to coat and then cover with cold water plus twice as much water again. You may need to add more later. Bring to the boil, skim off the froth that rises, simmer very gently for half an hour. Stir occasionally and add more water if need be. Then add salt and pepper to taste and a great big handful of chopped coriander leaf. Fresh mint can also be refreshing here. Experiment -- but don't introduce too many flavours?

Serve with rice and pickle or just as is with any kind of Indian bread -- or even pitta bread. It'll be spicy and creamy at the same time. And this will, in my house, do a couple of dinners and probably packed lunch for the grown ups. Kerching!

Finally, as this is your dinner, you could vary the spices and see what you like best. I am generous in the amounts I use because I like strong flavours; you might want something a little gentler (although the whole is mollified by the creamy nature of the cooked dhal, I reckon). Also, a dessertspoon of garam masala is nice stirred in at the end.