Lentil curry
A one pot lentil curry that’s full of flavour. Perfect if you’re batch cooking as it freezes brilliantly! This recipe uses tamarind paste which you can swap for lemon juice, if you prefer. Serve with freshly cooked rice or chapatis.
Each serving (without the rice or chapatis) provides 351 kcal, 18.5g protein, 44g carbohydrates (of which 5g sugars), 10g fat (of which 1g saturates), 6g fibre and 0.6g salt.
Ingredients
- 3 garlic cloves, roughly chopped
- 5 curry leaves
- 3 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 80²µ/2¾´Ç³ú brown onions, finely chopped (about 1 medium onion)
- ½ tsp mild chilli powder
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 300²µ/10½´Ç³ú red lentils
- 1.2 litres/2 pints warm water
- 80²µ/2¾´Ç³ú tomatoes, finely chopped
- 1 tsp caster sugar
- 1 tsp tamarind paste
- salt
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander, to garnish
Method
Place the garlic and curry leaves in a pestle and mortar. Crush to a coarse paste and set aside.
Heat the oil in a heavy-bottomed saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and, once they begin to pop, add the onions. Fry for 6 minutes until softened and then add the garlic and curry leaf mixture. Stir well, frying for 1 minute. Add the chilli powder and turmeric. Stir well and add the lentils and water. Season with salt and bring to the boil. Lower the heat and simmer for 20 minutes with a lid on, stirring halfway through.
Stir in the tomatoes and sugar and simmer for 5 minutes without the lid. Stir well, making sure it doesn’t stick to the bottom of the pan. Mash the lentils lightly with the back of the spoon as it begins to thicken. Add a little water if required.
Add the tamarind paste and stir well. Garnish the lentil curry with coriander and serve with rice or chapatis.
Recipe Tips
If you are using tamarind paste, make sure to check the strength of the paste as they vary and you might want to add more or less, depending on how sour it is.