Winter Warmer

Hi everyone,
This was inspired by this post on Jennifer's Jumbles Frosty Festivities. Jennifer posted about one of her family's favourite winter warmers, which made me think of this
Granny Robinson's Dal - my childhood comfort food! This dish has been a family staple for many years and each generation has tweaked the recipe. My version is fat free, but still includes all the basic ingredients and all the comforting warmth of the original - and it's so easy to make - you can have it bubbling away within ten minutes of getting home ...
Here are the essentials, although you can adapt to suit what you have available/what you like
You will need
1 onion
2 cloves garlic
1 cup red lentils
1 or 2 chillies, depending on how hot they are and how hot you like it!
1" cube-ish ginger root
tsp chilli powder
tsp salt
pinch coriander seeds
few black peppercorns
a tin of chopped tomatoes
lime juice

How to Cook
Pound together coriander and cumin seeds, salt, chilli powder and peppercorns
Finely chop onions, chilli, ginger and garlic
Rinse lentils in a sieve
Throw all these ingredients into a pan, add tomatoes and water to cover
Bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 mins
Squeeze over the juice of half a lime

That's it! YUM :o)

ps you can serve it in a bowl with a dollop of yoghurt; or with rice, fresh chutney and a hard boiled egg; leftovers can be made into a dip, a soup or a sandwich filling
pps you can substitute the ingredients to suit what you have available - liquid can be just water, or stock, you can use different types of lentils (may need longer cooking time), you can add aubergines or peppers or smoked bacon - so many possibilities :o)


Comments

Jennifer Grace said…
Ooo, this sounds good! And I have a packet of lentils sitting in my cupboard that I wasn't quite sure what to do with! Thanks so much for joining in the Frosty Festivities challenge! x