Black lentil, tomatoes, and kidney beans.

To my mind this is the absolute king of all dals. You may have tried the dish in Punjab restaurant and noticed a hint of delightful smokiness and wondered how on earth it got in there. Well, there is a little trick if you want to make this not just the best dal in the world but the best meal in the world full-stop. It's a showstopper yet really quite a simple method - and a lot of fun. Grab a mall piece of charcoal. pop it on a gas flame and get it hot enough to show some embers glowing. Meanwhile, peel an onion and hollow out the centre with a paring by cutting away about half of the middle rings but leaving a base: imagine you are making a bowl. When the dal has finished cooking. float the onion in the middle of the pan. Use tongs to place the charcoal inside the onion and then pour just half a teaspoon of ghee over don and slam the lid on. The coal will start burning the onion flesh, the ghee will smoke like crazy and a rich smokiness will be imparted into the dal within a minute or two. The addition of woody spices (cardamom, cinnamon) in the ghee infuses some extra complexity but usually don't bother. There you have it, my most coveted piece I of lentil sorcery. Give it a shot and be both amazed and forewarned that you will be totally and utterly addicted to this dish forever after.

Unbalanced

% Daily Values based on a 2,000 calorie diet

Step 1

Drain the kidney beans and rinse them well, then place them in a saucepan with 400 ml of water. Bring to the boil over medium heat, then reduce the heat and simmer for 30 minutes. Drain the lentils and add them to the pan. Simmer for a further 30 minutes or until the kidney beans and lentils are tender. Drain and set aside.

Step 2

Melt the butter in a large heavy-based saucepan or deep frying pan over medium heat. Add the ginger and garlic and fry for 2 minutes, then add the chopped tomato, green chilli, tomato paste, salt, chilli powder, cloves, cardamom, bay leaf and cinnamon. Cook for 10 minutes, then add the beans and lentils. Pour in 100 ml of cream and cook for a further 10-15 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a little water if it becomes too dry.

Step 3

Serve the dal hot, garnished with the remaining cream and the coriander, and accompanied by Indian bread or basmati rice.