Ingredients
Check off ingredients as you go
Serves 4
- 300 g (1½ cups) red lentils
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 2-4 cm (1-1½ in) piece fresh ginger (or to taste)
- 1 Tbsp neutral oil (or ghee)
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 can (400 g / 14 oz) crushed tomatoes
- 400 ml (1⅔ cups) coconut milk (or coconut cream)
- 500 ml (2 cups) water (or stock)
- Salt, pepper
- To serve
- A few fresh cilantro (coriander) leaves
Rinse the lentils. Finely chop the onion, the garlic cloves and the ginger.
In a large Dutch oven, heat the neutral oil, then add the onion and sweat it for a few minutes. Add the garlic and ginger, stir, then, off the heat, add the spices: cumin, turmeric, garam masala and coriander. Add the lentils, the coconut milk or cream, the can of tomatoes and the water (or vegetable stock). Mix everything well, cover and cook over medium heat for 25 minutes. Stir from time to time with a wooden spoon to check that the lentils aren’t sticking, adding a little liquid if needed; the lentils should no longer have any bite. Once cooked, season with salt and pepper. Scatter with fresh cilantro leaves.
Serve with garlic and cilantro naan, cheese naan or basmati rice.
Tips and variations
- You can add 2 cubes of frozen spinach at the same time as the lentils, it’s delicious.
- If you make this dish ahead, don’t hesitate to add half a glass of water when reheating, because red lentils absorb a lot of liquid and will look much thicker once cooled.