(serves 4-6)
Considering there are only 4 ingredients to this dish, aside from salt, pepper and oil… it really is incredible how much flavour it contains. This is a dish most Persians know and love and this was taught to me by my the Mother of my Mum’s best friend when I used to stay with them as a kid in Switzerland. Its dead easy to make, incredibly cheap to produce and goes a very long way… I hope you’ll love it as much as I do.
Ingredients
250g green lentils
2 heaped tablespoons of tomato puree
1 heaped tablespoon of curry powder
1 large or 2 small onions, finely chopped
Salt and pepper
Vegetable oil
Method
In a saucepan over a medium heat, drizzle in a little vegetable oil, enough to coat the base of the pan and soften but do not colour the onions. Once translucent, add the lentils and coat with the onions, then add the tomato puree, curry powder and a generous amount of salt and pepper and quickly coat the lentils, allow the tomato puree to cook out for a minute before covering the lentils with a generous amount of boiling water from a kettle (don’t stress about water volumes, you can always increase the water or reduce some if you’ve added too much… just ensure the lentils are cooked properly) stir the ingredients well, cover with a lid and reduce heat to a gentle boil and cook for 15 minutes with a lid on.
Once 15 minutes have elapsed, remove lid, stir and check and adjust seasoning, then leave to cook for another 15 minutes or so, stirring occasionally. Check the lentils to see if they are cooked to your liking and if not continue cooking for a little longer and add a little more water if needed. You cannot go wrong, have faith and trust your instinct and you will be fine.
Enjoy with a nice hunk or bread or flatbreads. Freezes beautifully, too!