Ingredients

Serves 4

• 200g red lentils
• 1 large onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 150g runner beans
• 1 tin tomaotes (or 2 large, fresh tomatoes
• 5 tablespoons vegetable oil (e.g. olive oil or sesame oil
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1/4frac14; teaspoon tumeric
• ½ teaspoon cardonom pods (optional
• About 1 litre water

Method

1. Peel the onion. Chop it in half and then slice finely. Peel and crush the garlic.
   
   
2. Crush the cardonom pods to remove the seeds. Discard the outer pods. Heat a thick bottomed pan on the hob until it is hot. Add the spices and cook for 2 minutes, stirring regularly.
   Put the spices in a pestle & mortar and crush.
   
   
3. Heat the oil in the same pan as you heated the spices in. Add the onion and garlic and saute, covered, for 5 minutes.
   
   
4. Add the spices and stir well. Cook for another 2 minutes.
   
   
5. Add the lentils and about 3/4 of the water. Mix well. Cover and simmer gently for 1/2 hour. Check and stir regularly. If it looks like it's drying out, add a little more water.
   
   
6. Prepare the runner beans by trimming the ends and cutting off any stringy bits on the sides. Then slice diagonally into fine strips, about 5mm wide.
   
   Drain the tomatoes (if from a tin) and chop roughly.
   
   
7. Once the lentils are softened, add the runner beans and tomatoes to the pan. Stir well and cook for a further 5 minutes.
   
   If it looks like it's drying out, add a little more water. You're looking for a "thick soup" consistency.
   

Time From Cupboard-To-Table

Notes & Variations on Lentil Dahl

Experiment with herbs and spices.

Experiment with adding different vegetables, too. Carrots chopped into fine sticks or even parsnip or turnip work well. It's good to keep colour in the dish, so green vegetables such as spinach or broccoli make a good addition, too.

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