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Punjabi Lentil Curry (0 syns)

A lot of you might be turned off at the thought of lentils - probably having visions of hippies and veggie food. However, this is a gorgeous curry that is so full of flavour and bite that you'll probably end up licking the plate clean. Seriously, it's gorgeous and it is an authentic Indian dish that real Indians eat! PS It might seem like it takes a long time to make, but the reality is that the boiling time eats up most of the time. The preparation is quite easy.
Course Dinner, Lunch
Cuisine Indian
Prep Time 15 minutes
Cook Time 1 hour
Total Time 1 hour 15 minutes
Servings 5 people

Ingredients

  • 100 g split yellow gram - also known as chana dall not split yellow peas
  • 200 g split red lentils
  • 2 tsp tumeric
  • 1.5 tsp salt (alter to taste, max 2 tsp)
  • 1 white onion finely chopped
  • 4 green chillis
  • Frozen ginger cube or 5cm fresh root ginger
  • Frozen garlic cube or around 4 garlic cloves
  • 0.5 tsp red chilli powder
  • 1.5 tsp garam masala
  • 2 handfuls fresh chopped coriander

Method

  1. Boil 3/4 of a pan of water.
  2. The yellow lentils take longer to cook that the red ones. Therefore, add yellow lentils and add 2 tsp tumeric. Allow to boil for around 30 mins (or when soft).
  3. Then add the red lentils and boil for another 15-20 mins (just check that they are soft).

  4. Add 1.5 tsp salt

  5. Keep adding boiled water to this mixture - there should be around 1cm of liquid above the level of the lentils in the pan. at all times.
  6. WHILE THE ABOVE IS HAPPENING
  7. In a frying pan (using FryLight of course) fry off 1 white finely chopped onion
  8. Add 4 green chillies, ginger cube (3cm x 2cm cube) - or 5cm piece of fresh root ginger, and the frozen garlic cube
  9. Fry all these until lightly brown.
  10. Then add red chilli powder (0.5 tsp) and 1.5 tsp garam masala
  11. Fry for a couple of minutes again
  12. Add 1/3rd of a can of chopped tomatoes. Fry for a few mins more.
  13. Then add the mixture to the lentil pan, add the 2 handfuls of chopped coriander and cook for 10 mins, stirring the pan periodically.

  14. Taste it. If you require more salt, add 0.5 tsp only. Serve with boiled rice.

Recipe Notes

If you love your meat, how about adding chicken thighs to this dish. De-bone the thighs first and velvet them (see homepage of this website on how to velvet meat). Once you've done that, add to the lentil dish about half-way through. 

I've recently found that if you add fresh pomegranate seeds (or are they called kernels) to this dish - it takes it to a totally different level. (PS To get the seeds out of pomegranate - slice in half, turn over and then tap hard with the back of a desert spoon).

Please note: Frozen cubes of garlic or ginger can be found in international supermarkets and in some major English supermarket stores. One rectangular cube measures 3.5cm x 3.5cm x 1.5cm.