Dal Makhani; Spicy Lentils with Kidney Beans

Had one of those days recently when I got home and had nothing in the house except store cupboard ingredients. I felt like cooking some lentils so I had a little look online and found this Pakistani recipe, which as ever I tweaked slightly. It was perfect, and delicious. I had never thought to use kidney beans in a curry recipe, and it made a nice change from the usual dal I make (which I'll have to upload onto here sometime...). You can make it with dried coriander but fresh is better, and I have to admit I sent my boyfriend to the shop down the road to get it, which defeated the point of cooking with what I had in the cupboard, but oh well! I've since found out that the correct name for this is 'Dal Makhani', and it is supposed to be cooked with black lentils. I used red lentils though, and it was amazing. I wanted more but only made two portions, which I regretted afterwards... I've also since seen much more complex recipes for this, but I like the simplicity of this recipe, using very few strong flavours, so I've not tried them.

Serves 2

Ingredients:

160g lentils
470ml water
pinch salt
4 cloves garlic
1 inch fresh ginger
bunch fresh coriander, roughly chopped
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tin kidney beans, drained
2 tsp - 1 tbsp butter (optional; omit if vegan or undesired)
chilli powder to taste
fresh chillies (optional)

Instructions:

1. Rinse the lentils. Add the water (freshly boiled) and a pinch of salt, and boil for 10 minutes. Lower the heat and simmer until the lentils are softened. Check from time to time to make sure there is enough water - once cooked, you want just a bit of water remaining.

2. Slightly mash the lentils with the back of a wooden spoon against the side of the pan. Add the butter (if using); there is no hard and fast rule for how much butter to use, as its just to taste, so put as much as you want in. 

3. Grate the garlic and ginger directly in the lentils and stir. Add the tomato paste and chilli powder. Chop and add chillies (if using). Finally, add the kidney beans and stir in.

4. Heat through, though do not boil. Towards the end of cooking, add the chopped coriander.

5. Serve with rice or accompaniment of your choice.