Ingredients:

• 1 cup red lentils
• 1 heaping tsp cumin seeds
• 1 heaping tsp turmeric
• ½ onion
• 2 cloves of garlic
• 2 cm-ish piece of fresh ginger
• 1 ½ tbsp olive oil
• 1 heaping tsp garam marsala

Directions:

Place your lentils into a big bowl and pour water on top of them until they’re submerged. Stir them around gently with your fingers – you’ll notice a cloudy, milky substance coming off of them. Stir them around, then pour them into a sieve and rinse them off. Take these rinsed-off lentils and put them into a large pot. Toss in the spoonfuls of cumin seeds and turmeric, and then pour in enough water to cover them by about an inch and a half. Don’t cover up the pot with a lid, and just bring the lentils to a boil. Once the water boils, give your lentils a stir, and then bring them down to a simmer. Rest the lid so that there’s a big slot for the steam to escape. Simmer your lentils for about 30-40 minutes, while giving them the occasional stir. If you find that you want the lentils to be less thick, pour in some boiling water – but it must be boiling when you pour it in! (These lentils are picky little dudes when it comes to their water!)

Once your lentils are done, heat up the oil on medium heat. Dice up your onion, and chop up the garlic and ginger. Saute them for a little while, and add in the garam marsala. Let this mixture brown up a bit – it’s done when nothing is raw anymore, but you definitely don’t want it to be burnt. Once it’s done, add it to your lentils and mix it in. Serve on top of roti, naan or white basmati rice, with a little sprig of cilantro on top and a dollop of yogurt off to the side. Enjoy!

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This item was part of our food swap on January 28th, 2013.  This dish was swapped for:

• Couscous Salad
• Zucchini Mini Patties
• Sweet Potato Gnocchi
• Sweet Cheese Phyllo Pie