Cooking For One: Lentil Dhal

This is possibly one of the most simple dishes I've ever made, and its a great way of making a meal out of almost nothing - as you can get away without using any fresh ingredients so long as you have some store cupboard essentials. Because of this it is a super cheap dish, so its great for when the budget feels tight.

Ingredients:

Half a Red Onion

Cup of Red Lentils
4/5 cups vegetable stock (you can use water)

Teaspoon Lazy Garlic

Lazy Chilli to taste (or Tabasco)

Butter/Oil

1/2 Tablespoon Tomato Puree (optional)

Turmeric/Cumin/Other Spices (optional to taste)

Method

1) Dice the onion and place in a saucepan with a little butter or oil. Cook until translucent on a low heat.

2) Add the garlic and chilli. If using Tabasco, wait until fully cooked before stirring through.

3) Add the lentils and pour over the stock or water. Bring to the boil.

4) Add the spices and the tomato puree (if including). I had some fresh tomatoes so I chopped a couple up and added these too.

5) Allow to simmer till the lentils are soft, but still have some bite to them.

At this point you can decide what sort of consistency you're after. I like mine quite soupy so I don't let too much of the water boil off. You can have it very sodgy if you like - it'll probably take about half an hour to cook, just keep an eye on it.

That is it! A really quick, relatively healthy meal which you can enjoy as a lunch or dinner. I like mine with flatbread for a dinner, or on its own with a bit of goats cheese for lunch. If you don't have either it still tastes great. It packs a huge flavour punch for so few ingredients.

if you try this out, let me know how you fund it! Leave a comment below or tweet me @VickiMaitland.