Dhal
500g SNP Home Base - summer tomato and basil
4 cm ginger, roughly sliced
2 tbs ghee (or 1 tbs of olive oil and 1 tbs of butter)
250g red lentils
1 tps cumin seeds
1 tsp cumin ground
1 tsp coriander ground
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt flakes
½ tsp dried chilli flakes (optional)
750 ml warm water

Crispy curry leaves
2 tbs ghee or 1 tbs of olive oil and 1 tbs of butter
2 garlic cloves, sliced
4 cm ginger, cut into matchsticks
Curry leaves

Yoghurt and cucumber (optional)
1 cucumber
½ cup yoghurt
Lemon juice to taste

Rice and papadums to serve

Wash and rinse your lentils under warm water. I’ve found this helps speed up the process and remove any grit. Set aside.

In a food processor or blender, blitz your ginger. Then add your home base. Blitz to bring it all together. If you don’t have one, grate ginger into your Home Base sauce and give it a good shake. Set aside.

Place a large pot over medium heat. Add ghee or olive oil and butter. When melted, throw in cumin seeds. Let them dance around the pan for 30 seconds, then add ground cumin, ground coriander and turmeric. Continue to move around the pan for a further 30 seconds until fragrant. Throw in lentils and your ginger home base sauce along with salt, chilli flakes (if using), and warm water.

Leave to cook for 20 minutes, uncovered, occasionally stirring or until lentils are soft and the dahl has thickened.

In the meantime, if you choose too, grate your cucumber. Stir in yoghurt along with a squeeze of lemon juice to taste. Season. Set aside.

To make your crispy topping, heat a fry pan over medium to high heat.  Add ghee or olive oil and butter, when melted, throw in your garlic and ginger and fry, moving around the pan for 30 seconds. You want to get some colour! Throw in your curry leaves and cook for another 30 seconds. They’ll go bright green and crisp up.

Turn off heat.

Pour crispy topping over your lentils and serve immediately.