I have this recipe thanks to the Ashoka Cook School in Glasgow. I’ve been there a few times with friends and family to various classes – this dish is definitely my favourite that I’ve learnt! It goes really nicely with some flatbread but I didn’t have time to make any last night, I’ll post a recipe for that soon 🙂

Daal

Ingredients

• 50g orange lentils
• 500mls water
• 2tbsp ghee (you can use Frylight here, or any other butter substitute)
• 2 garlic cloves (finely chopped)
• 1 inch ginger
• 1/4 chopped onion
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 1 tsp  salt
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp green chilli paste (if you find this hard to come by I sometimes use Thai Green Chilli paste and it works just as well)
• 1/2 fresh tomato
• pinch of fenugreek and coriander
• pinch of garam masala

Serves 2-3 (If you want to make a bigger batch of this double all the ingredients except for the spices)

1. Boil the water in a saucepan and place the lentils and 1tbsp of ghee, mix and leave to simmer on a medium heat until soft.
2. In a frying pan melt 2tbsp of ghee and fry the garlic and ginger until browned.
3. Then add in the cumin and chopped onion until golden brown (5-10 minutes). Once the onion is brown add the remaining ingredients except for the garam masala.
4. Once all of the ingredients are combined I let this cook on a low heat for an additional 5 minutes to combine the flavours, then add this to your lentil mixture and leave on a low heat for a further 5 minutes.
5. Serve with pilau rice!

Pilau Rice

Ingredients

• 1/4 onion slices
• 4tbsp oil
• 1tsp cumin seeds
• 2 bay leaves
• 2 cardamoms
• 2 inches of a cinnamon stick
• 1/2tsp salt
• 1/2tsp garam masala
• 375mls boiled water
• 150g basmati rice

Serves 2-3, again to make this for more people double everything except for the spices

1. Heat the oil in a pot and add in the sliced onion and cumin seeds, fry until golden and add the remaining ingredients and cook for an additional 2-3 minutes on a medium heat.
2. Add the water and bring to the boil, once boiling add the rice and keep heat on medium. Place a lid on the pot and allow to cook for 15-20 minutes or until all the water is absorbed. Do not stir the rice!
3. Once ready serve up with the Daal!

 

Rice before and after: