Whole Roast Carrot & Coconut Dal

Hi my name is Tom Walton and I’m addicted to Dhal!
It’s true, my wife and I could happily eat it 3 times a week, we almost do. There are more types of Dhal than you can poke a lentil at. All delicious and give different textures and take to different flavours. Made from various pulses - red lentils, black lentils, yellow-green peas, mung beans and split chickpeas.

I generally roll with Red lentil as my lentil of choice, I’ve always got 2kg of them in the cupboard to whip up a dhal with what I have in the fridge and cupboard. I also love a dhal with fish and have a cracking recipe for a baked fish with dhal dish in my cookbook, More Fish, More Veg.

Prep/cook time – 1 hour

Serves 4

Ingredients

1kg carrots, washed well

6 tbsp olive oil or coconut oil

4 tbsp korma curry spice

3 stalks curry leaves

1 brown onion, finely diced

4 clove garlic, sliced

2 tbsp tomato paste

1 ½ cups red lentils

1-2 tbsp tamarind concentrate

1250ml vegetable stock

400ml coconut milk

handful coriander leaves

Method

Preheat an oven to 220C and line a baking tray with baking paper.

Grate 2 of the carrots and set aside. Toss the remaining carrots with 1 tbsp of korma paste and 2 tbsp of olive oil. Season with a salt and pepper then place onto the baking tray, roast in the oven for approx. 35-40 minutes, until caramelised and soft.

Add 2 tsp of oil to a small frying pan over a medium/high heat and add the 2 stalks of the curry leaves, cooking until the go bright green and crisp, 30 seconds, then drain on paper towel and lightly season and set aside.

Place a medium saucepan over a medium/high heat and add 2 tbsp of olive, onion, garlic, and grated carrot with a pinch of salt and sweat for 5 minutes.

Add the curry paste, tomato paste, reserved curry leaves and cook for 2 minutes more before adding the lentils, tamarind, vegetable stock and simmering for 20 -25 minutes, stirring often, until the lentils are almost cooked then add half the coconut milk and cook for 2 minutes more.

Adjust the seasoning to taste.

To serve, scatter the roast carrots over the dhal, drizzle with some of the remaining coconut milk and scatter with the coriander leaves