TOMATO DHAL

Oscar Ragg

Recipe by Oscar Ragg

So you’ve come home from work and the house is unusually quiet. After a split second of feeling disappointed that you have no-one to moan about your day to, you realise you’ve hit the jackpot. Let Oscar Ragg walk you through a peaceful night of cooking and devouring this freshly cooked tomato dhal.

Ingredients

• 1 cup split red lentils

• 2 tablespoons ghee (or your choice of oil)

• 1 tablespoon black mustard seeds

• 2 teaspoons cumin seeds

• 1 brown onion, minced

• 2 tomatoes, roughly chopped

• 1 jalapeno, minced

• 2.5cm fresh ginger, peeled and minced

• 2 cloves garlic, minced

• 1 teaspoon turmeric powder

• ½ teaspoon Kashmiri chilli powder

• ½ teaspoon garam masala

• ¼ teaspoon asafoetida (aka hing)

• Toast, freshly picked coriander, and chilli oil for serving

Method

1. Rinse the lentils in a sieve or strainer under cool running water. Leave to drip off excess water.

2. In a medium or large pot, heat ghee over medium–high heat until melted and hot.

3. Add cumin and mustard seeds and let sizzle until fragrant, no more than 30 seconds.

4. Add onion and a pinch of salt. Cook, stirring occasionally, until softened.

5. Reduce heat to medium. Add the ginger, garlic, and jalapeno, stirring frequently.

6. Once they start to stick, add the tomatoes and a heavy pinch of salt. Add the remaining spices and cook, stirring and scraping the bottom of the pot, until softened. 

7. Add the lentils and stir until integrated, then add 3 cups of cold water. Increase heat to high and bring to a boil.

8. Add another heavy pinch of salt (or two!), stir through, and reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cook until desired consistency is reached (I like the lentils to be tender, but not like a soup). Serve with toast, coriander, and chilli oil.