Traybake lemon dal with pickled green chillies
Dal is a staple of our weeknight cooking. It’s the dinner I never get bored of. I have a few favourites I make on rotation: coconut, lemon and now this traybaked tomato one. As this version is made in the oven, it’s very hands-off. The tinned tomatoes are roasted first to give a deeper hit of tomato flavour. Serve this with a pot of rice, some parathas, some salted yogurt and chutney.
SERVES
4
1tbsp coriander seeds
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2tsp cumin seeds
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2 x 400g tins plum tomatoes
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2tbsp ghee or other cooking oil
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2 unwaxed lemons
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Thumb-sized piece fresh
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root ginger, peeled
8 garlic cloves, peeled and
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finely sliced
2 green chillies, sliced
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2tsp golden caster sugar
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50ml white wine vinegar
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30g coriander, chopped
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1tsp ground turmeric
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1 cinnamon stick
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1tbsp Kashmiri chilli powder
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(or 1/2tsp if using other chilli powders)
1tbsp yellow mustard seeds
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300g split red lentils
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400ml tin coconut milk
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800ml hot vegetable stock
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250g paneer or firm tofu
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Warm rice, parathas or roti, yogurt and chutney to serve
1 Preheat oven to 220°C (200°C fan) mark 7. Add the coriander and cumin seeds to a high-sided baking tray and roast in the oven for 2-4min until fragrant, then remove and crush with a pestle and mortar before returning to the tray. Drain both tins of tomatoes and add to the tray. Use a potato masher or the back of a large spoon/ fork to crush the tomatoes to release their juice and flatten them a little and spread them evenly over the tray.
2 Add the ghee or oil, then finely grate in the zest of 1 lemon and the ginger and add the sliced garlic. Toss the tomatoes in the spices and roast for 30min until sticky and intensified in flavour.
3 Make the quick pickle. Put the sliced green chillies, golden caster sugar, white wine vinegar and 1tsp salt into a small bowl and mix well. Add the finely grated zest of the second lemon. Stir through the chopped coriander, stems and all. Put in the fridge (it will keep in the fridge for up to 7 days).
4 Once the tomatoes have had their time, remove them from the oven and stir in the ground turmeric, cinnamon stick, chilli powder and yellow mustard seeds. Add the split red lentils and pour over the coconut milk and hot vegetable stock. Cover tightly with foil and return to the oven for another 40min.
5 After 40min, carefully take the tray out of the oven and remove the foil. Stir the dal, then season well with salt. Tear the paneer or firm tofu over the top of the dal and squeeze over the juice of the 2 zested lemons. Return to the oven for a further 15min or until the edges of the paneer/tofu are beginning to turn golden, the dal is creamy and the lentils are soft.
6 Serve with rice, parathas, yogurt and chutney and the pickled chilli and coriander mixture.