Red lentil dal with sizzling tarka

A comforting, mild pot of soft lentils, finished with a sizzle of spiced ghee. Costs next to nothing.

Ingredients

• 300 g Red lentils, rinsed
• 1 Onions, finely chopped
• 0.5 Garlic, crushed
• 15 g Fresh ginger, grated
• 15 ml Vegetable oil
• 4 g Ground turmeric
• 5 g Ground cumin
• 3 g Garam masala
• 200 g Chopped tomatoes
• 1 Vegetable stock cubes
• 100 g Spinach
• 0.5 Lemons, juiced
• 450 g Basmati rice
• 20 g Ghee
• 3 g Ground cumin
• 1 Fresh chillies, sliced, optional

Method

1. Soften the onion, garlic and ginger in the oil for a few minutes.
2. Stir in the turmeric, cumin and garam masala, then add the lentils, tomatoes, crumbled stock cube and 1 litre of water. Simmer, stirring often so the lentils do not catch, until they are soft and falling apart.
3. Boil the rice in salted water, drain and keep covered.
4. Stir the spinach and lemon juice into the dal until the spinach wilts. Beat it with a spoon if you like it smoother.
5. For the tarka, melt the ghee in a small pan and sizzle the cumin and chilli for a minute. Pour it over the dal.
6. Serve the dal over the rice.