This month’s dish is an interesting one. I love prawns but I think lentils are a much-underrated legume. Lentils have many health benefits and there are an interesting variety available. This recipe is very tasty and you can play around with the mix of spices to suit your taste preferences.
Ingredients
100g dried red lentils
Olive oil
1 large onion, finely diced
Salt & black pepper
6 large cloves garlic, minced
Thumb-size piece of ginger, grated or finely minced
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp ground coriander
¼ tsp ground turmeric
¼ tsp hot chilli powder
1 tbsp tomato purée
Juice from ½ lime
1x (400g) chopped tomatoes
500ml Carol’s Stock Market Vegetable Stock
100ml water
1 tbsp garam masala
200g gamba prawns
Sliced chilli and fresh coriander, to serve
Serves
4-6
Method
Place lentils in a large sieve then rinse 3-4 times. Transfer lentils to a bowl and cover with cold water.
Heat a large shallow casserole dish over medium heat then add a drizzle of olive oil.
Add the onion with a light seasoning of salt and pepper and cook, stirring occasionally, until onion starts to turn golden, about 10 minutes.
Stir in garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, and chilli powder and cook until mixture is fragrant and sticky, about 3 minutes.
Stir in the tomato purée and cook for another minute.
Add lime juice and chopped tomato and season lightly with salt. Simmer until liquid has reduced and you have a thick paste, about 10 minutes.
Drain the lentils and rinse again in the sieve until water runs mostly clear. Add drained lentils to the tomato paste then stir in Carol’s vegetable stock and water.
Bring to a boil then reduce heat to a gentle simmer. Cover pot and leave to cook, stirring occasionally, until lentils are cooked through, about 1 hour. You can add a little hot water to the pot if needed.
Stir in the garam masala and taste for seasoning, add more salt and pepper if needed.
Shell and de-vein the prawns (you can leave the tail shells on if you like) then add to the pot. Cover with the lid and cook just until prawns are opaque, about 5 minutes.
Garnish with slices of fresh chilli and torn coriander to serve.
