Comforting and Rustic Dhal

Serves: 4 – 6
Prep time: 15 minutes
Cooking time: 1 hour 15mins

Ingredients:
½ cup saaf di mahaar dhal (whole urid beans), checked for stones and rinsed well
½ cup moth dhal (whole moth beans), checked for stones and rinsed well
2 tsp salt
½ tsp ground turmeric
2 green chillies, finely chopped
1 cup tinned chopped plum tomatoes, blended in a food processor until smooth
1 tbsp grated fresh ginger
2 tbsp oil
1 medium sized onion, finely chopped
4 garlic cloves, very finely chopped
1 tsp garam masala
A handful of chopped fresh cilantro
Butter to serve

Directions:
1. Place the dhal in a large saucepan and add 9 cups (2 ¼ litres) of boiling water. Add the salt and turmeric, stirring the water, and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes.

2. Add the chillies, tomato and ginger to the pan. Stir thoroughly and simmer extremely gently, stirring frequently, for a further 30 minutes, adding another ½ cup (125ml) of boiling water partway through. Switch off the heat. The dhal should be well blended with the water.

3. Heat the oil in a frying pan and fry the onion and garlic until lightly golden. Pour this tarka over the dhal and sprinkle with garam masala and cilantro, before stirring it in and serving with a knob of butter.