I am very fond of curries and I love to experiment with spices and flavours. One of the most satisfying dishes has to be the humble dal. The most basic one is simply pulses, hulled, split and then cooked. The proper way of preparing these pulses does take some time and so in this recipe we use split red lentils.

You need (serves 2):
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 cloves of garlic, finely sliced
1cm fresh root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1/2 teaspoon of ground fennel
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 fresh chilli, finely chopped
200g red split lentils, washed
500ml vegetable stock (or just water)
Bunch of coriander leaves, roughly chopped

Heat a glug of oil in a saucepan to a medium heat and add the onion, cook until golden
Then add the garlic, ginger, chilli and dried spices, cook for a further minute
Add the lentils and combine with the onion and spice mix
Pour in the stock and leave on a medium heat, uncovered for 25-30 minutes until cooked through and starting to break up
Stir the coriander in with a fork to break the peas up even more
We served this with grilled mushrooms and an avocado side salad for a filling dinner.


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