Dhal with Caraway Aubergine

Pippa Kendrick

Gluten free, soy free, nut free, yeast free. Rich, thick and creamy this mellow spiced dhal is a delicious accompaniment to curries. Serve with Onion Bhajis a bowl of basmati rice, a few poppadoms and some freshly sliced tomatoes. The caraway roasted aubergine add extra bite and a fragrant finish.

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Ingredients

1 large aubergine
1 tsp caraway seeds
½ tsp sea salt flakes
4 tbsp olive oil
170g red lentils
1 pint vegetable stock
1 tbsp olive oil
1 onion
1 clove of garlic
½ inch piece of ginger
1 bay leaf
½ stick of cinnamon
½ tsp cumin
½ tsp turmeric
½ tsp sea salt flakes
The juice of ½ a lemon

Method

Trim the ends from the aubergine and cut into ½ inch chunks. Place the oil, sea salt and caraway seeds into a bowl and mix together, add the aubergine and toss into the oil until well coated. Leave to marinate.

Roughly chop the onion and finely grate the garlic and ginger. Heat the olive oil in a large saucepan, add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry gently until the onion has begun to soften – about 20 minutes. Add the spices to the pan and continue to fry for a further 3 minutes. Add the lentils to the pan and stir together until coated. Pour over the stock, cover and bring to the boil, then leave to simmer gently for 20 minutes (try not to stir) or until nearly all of the liquid has been absorbed.

While the lentils are cooking preheat the oven to 180c. Tip the aubergine onto a baking tray and roast for 30-35 minutes until golden.

Take the lentils off the heat and then using a wooden spoon, beat vigorously until you have a smooth and creamy dhal. Stir in the sea salt and lemon juice, then spoon into a serving dish. Roughly chop the coriander, and scatter over the dhal along with the roasted aubergine before serving.

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