Nina Kang's Indian dahl

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Nina's mum taught her this authentic dahl recipe. Just add veg or meat to the base to make a wonderful curry.

Serves: 2 - 4
Skill level: Easy peasy
Costs: Cheap as chips

Ingredients

Refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to one month. Nina Kang, from Derby

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For the base:

1 onion (any kind, including spring onions or red onions), chopped
3 garlic cloves
Grated or finely sliced ginger
2 green chillies (the small ones)
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala (a blend of hot spices, which you'll find in the herbs section)
1 tsp turmeric
- Potato and cauliflower (just cut up the veg into bite-size chunks)
- Potato and peppers
- Pumpkin (this smells amazing!)
- Peas
- Kidney beans
- Chickpeas
- Eggs (when the base is done, just stir in the eggs on a low heat - they'll look a bit like scrambled eggs).

Method

To make the base:
Fry the chopped onion, garlic, ginger and chillies together in butter or oil on a low heat until golden (the onions usually emit their own juices when done).
Add the salt, garam masala and turmeric to the mixture and stir.
For vegetables or meat: Cook the base mixture and then add the chopped vegetable or raw meat. Cover the pan and then allow to cook on a low heat stirring occasionally until done. With meat, you could also add water to make it into more of a curry.
For lentil dahls: Cover the lentils with water and simmer until done (cooking time depends on type of lentil, so check the packet for cooking instructions). You can make the base at the same time and when it's cooked, just add to the lentil pan - no need to drain the water. Then simmer until the texture's right. You can make this as thick or watery as you like, just cook more or less.

To add ingredients to the base: As long as you have this base right, you can make any kind of dahl with ease - just add them to the base recipe above. Vegetables that work well include: - Potato and cauliflower (just cut up the veg into bite-size chunks) - Potato and peppers - Pumpkin (this smells amazing!) - Peas - Kidney beans - Chickpeas - Eggs (when the base is done, just stir in the eggs on a low heat - they'll look a bit like scrambled eggs). 1. For vegetables or meat: Cook the base mixture and then add the chopped vegetable or raw meat. Cover the pan and then allow to cook on a low heat stirring occasionally until done. With meat, you could also add water to make it into more of a curry. 2. For lentil dahls: Cover the lentils with water and simmer until done (cooking time depends on type of lentil, so check the packet for cooking instructions). You can make the base at the same time and when it's cooked, just add to the lentil pan - no need to drain the water. Then simmer until the texture's right. You can make this as thick or watery as you like, just cook more or less. Top tip: Refrigerate for up to a week or freeze for up to one month. Nina Kang, from Derby

By Andrea Mann

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