Dhal

A cook in Ella once advised that in our busy lives, we can’t be standing around stirring boiling lentils all day. And hence, soak the lentils in water for about 30 mins before cooking – this way, they will take a shorter time to cook. A dhal curry is easy comfort food. Scoop over rice or stringhoppers on a cold winters night or rainy day.

Ingredients

Orange coloured flat lentils, garlic, red onion, turmeric, chilli powder, coconut milk 2, curry leaves, dried red chilli

Method

On a hot pot, tamper coconut oil with garlic, onion and curry leaves. Once the aromas fill the air and the curry leaves have curled and turned a dark green, add in the soaked lentils (without the water) and then spice with turmeric and chilli powder, combining all ingredients in the pot. Take 1 part water, 1 part coconut milk 2 and add into the pot, cover and cook. This should cook within 10 to 20 mins, depending on the quantity. On the side, pan roast the dried red chilli with some oil until it puffs up. Once dhal is cooked, break each chilli in half, add it in and then salt and pepper to taste! Scoop onto rice or stringhoppers.