Dahl
Ingredients
- 4 tablespoons unsalted butter, divided
- 1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- A 2 inch piece of ginger root, finely grated
- 2 tablespoons of Spices of India Seasoning
- ½ to 1 teaspoon Chili Pepper and Garlic Oil
- 3 cups water
- 1 13.5 oz can of full-fat coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 28 oz can of whole tomatoes (ideally unsalted)
- 1½ cups dried red lentils
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- Sea salt, to taste
- Fresh cilantro, yogurt, chili flakes and cooked basmati rice or quinoa for serving
Instructions
- Heat 2 tablespoons of butter in a heavy-bottomed pot (I use my Le Creuset Dutch Oven) set over medium-high heat. Add the onions and cook until they are soft and starting to brown (5-7 minutes at least). Add the garlic and grated ginger and continue to cook, stirring regularly so the garlic doesn't burn, until the mixture is brown and very fragrant.
- Stir in the and Spices of India Seasoning and Chili Pepper and Garlic Oil let them cook for about 30 seconds. Be careful not to let the spices burn.
- Add the water, coconut milk, tomato paste, and the tomatoes and their juices, crushing each tomato between your fingers as you add it to the pot. Stir in the lentils.
- Bring the mixture to a boil, then reduce the heat to low and let it simmer until the lentils are very soft and most of the liquid has been absorbed. This will take about 30-40 minutes, but the time will depend on the lentils you use.
- Stir in the remaining 2 tablespoons of butter (and more if you want to make this dahl a little richer), lemon juice, garam masala and salt (I usually add at least 1 teaspoon of sea salt).
- Serve over rice or quinoa, garnished with yogurt, chili flakes and cilantro.
- Leftovers will last for several days in the fridge or can be frozen for a few months at least. The flavor in this dish gets better with age.