Okay, doesn’t sound that appetising, but this went down a treat with a bottle of the excellent ginger-spiced Blandford Fly beer. I didn’t even grumble about the brown rice – it was totally like being back in a cafe in Bristol in the 1980s… Recipe adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Indian Cookery, BBC, 1982, serves 4.
- 200g red split lentils
- 1 litre water
- half teaspoon ground turmeric
- vegetable oil
- 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
- 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 250g finely chopped cabbage
- dried flaked chillies
- tomato puree
- half teaspoon dried ginger
Boil the lentils in the water, removing scum and add the turmeric. Cover and simmer gently until tender. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a pan and sizzle the cumin seeds. Add the garlic and onion, cabbage & chillies. Fry until cabbage starts to crisp. Add salt if you want. When the lentils are cooked, add the tomato puree and ginger and the cabbage mix. Simmer for 2-3 minutes and serve with brown basmati rice.