This is a favourite recipe in our house. It is one of those recipes we always have the ingredients for and it comes together fast and is tasty and filling. I have used fresh, frozen and canned tomatoes in this recipe. Fenugreek seeds may be hard to find in a grocery store but your local Middle Eastern store will have them. Vietnamese coriander is a herb that we grow in a pot on our patio all summer and then bring it in to over winter as a house plant. We find it’s flavour to be a bit citrus and a bit cilantro. BTW-Fresh gingerroot is best kept in the fridge on a shelf with no covering.
Dhal
- 1 tbls olive oil
- 1 small white onion
- 1 teas yellow mustard seeds
- 2 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 8 fenugreek seeds
- 1 teas fresh grated gingerroot
- 1/2 teas salt
- 1/2 cup red lentils
- 1 tbls tomato paste
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 2 tomatoes, chopped
- 1 tbls fresh lemon juice
- 2 tbls fresh Vietnamese coriander or fresh cilantro
Drizzle
- 1 tbls olive oil
- 1/2 teas garam masala
- 1/2 teas chili powder
Directions
- Heat the olive oil in a dutch oven or other large pot. Add the onions and cook for 2-3 minutes. Add the mustard seeds and cover the pan until the seeds begin to pop.
- Remove the lid and add the garlic, fenugreek, ginger and salt. Stir to combine.
- Add the lentils, tomato paste and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer gently for 10 minutes.
- Add the tomatoes, lemon juice and Vietnamese coriander or fresh cilantro and simmer for another 4-5 minutes. At this point the lentils should be cooked and the liquid should have reduced to a slightly thicker consistency. If not, simmer a couple minutes longer.
- Put in soup bowls.
- For the drizzle, heat the olive oil in a small pan and add the garam masala and chili powder. Stir to combine and drizzle over the bowls of dhal.