Tarka Daal

‘Most Indians will be surprised to see such a traditional dish in a modern cookbook, but when the classic is as perfect as this, 'm not going to mess around with it much, I remember as a teenager my parents told me that the spices in daal protected my tummy, I wasn't having any of it. That was until I started, reading about clinical research examining the digestive effects of Indian spices such as clove, cumin and cardamom. Yet another ‘I-told-you-so! moment. Yellow lentils are one of the easiest pulses to prepare from scratch, and this is one of the most nourishing recipes in my book. “Tarka’ is the name for flavoured, spiced oil.

Great

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Put the lentils in a pan with the turmeric, star anise and water, bring toa simmer over a medium heat and cook for 20 minutes until the lentils are soft and breaking apart. Take off the heat and, using a masher, roughly mash the lentils in the pan to create a gorgeous, creamy texture. Fold the spinach through the lentils and cover (the residual heat will lightly wilt the leaves)

Step 2

Meanwhile, melt the coconut oil in a frying pan over a medium heat, add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds, cloves, cinnamon and cardamom and fry for 1-2 minutes until the mustard seeds begin to pop and the spices are fragrant. Add the spring onions, garlic, ginger and season with salt and pepper and sauté for 2-3 minutes until lightly browned. Add the tomatoes and let them soften a little. Remove the pan from the heat.

Step 3

‘Mix half the ‘tarka’ through the lentils, divide the lentils between two bowls and spoon the rest of the tarka on top. Drizzle with the lime ju