It is raining in gusts but this storm
cannot wash it away: 
Guilt, like turmeric, stains the soul.

Guilt Prabhu Iyer

This recipe comes via a friend, Rav, from his father, the Doc. It uses toor dhal, which are an oily kind of lentil and results is a wonderfully creamy consistency of dhal. Other things that I learnt about from this recipe are Panch Pooran - a mixture of 5 seeds (cumin, fenugreek, black mustard, fennel and nigella) which bring a wonderful aromatic edge to any dish - and tempering (vagar in Hindi) - a technique of releasing those aromas by quick cooking in very hot oil. In the video below I show the tempering process in this recipe. It is a fantastic technique and your kitchen will smell amazing for a long time afterwards. The paneer is my own addition, as I love paneer. Serve this dish with rice or naan - I hope to have a gluten free naan recipe up soon.

1 cup red lentils
1/2 cup toor dahl
1/2 tablespoon ginger chopped fine
1/2 teaspoon of turmeric 
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon pepper
3 tablespoons of tinned tomatoes
2 teaspoons of sugar
1 teaspoon of panch pooran (Indian 5 spice)
4 or 5 cloves
2 cinnamon sticks
2 green and 2 black cardamom 
2 tablespoons of garlic oil
125 g paneer 
1 tablespoon chopped coriander
Juice of 1/2 a lime
  • Wash the lentils
  • Put the lentils in a saucepan with about 2 inches of boiling water (no need to be too accurate, we can add more later if needed)
  • Add the ginger, turmeric, salt and pepper and keep boiling until the lentils are a bit pulverised (to your own tastes)
  • Add the tomato
  • Add the sugar
  • Heat the garlic oil in a small saucepan until almost smoking
  • Add in the panch pooran, cinnamon, cloves and cardamom
  • The seeds start to crackle almost immediately
  • Remove from the heat
  • Throw the oil with the seeds and spices into the main saucepan of lentils
  • Cook for a few more minutes
  • Add the coriander and lime just before serving