Ingredients
2 tbsps flavourless oil
2 red onions, finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped
1 green chilli, finely chopped
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tbsp black mustard seeds
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp ground cardamom (or the seeds from 6 cardamom pods, ground)
200g dried split red lentils, washed
1 x 400ml tin coconut milk
500ml vegetable stock
100g baby spinach, washed
4 ripe vine tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 unwaxed lemons
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper

Ingredients for the topping
100g toasted cashew nuts
1 green chilli
½ unwaxed lemon

Method
Heat the oil in a large heavy based saucepan and cook the onions over a medium heat with a pinch of salt for 5-7 minutes until they are soft and translucent. Add the chillies and cook for another couple of minutes until everything in the pan is soft and fragrant. Add the cumin, coriander and mustard seeds and when the mustard seeds start to pop, stir in the ground turmeric and cardamom.

Add the lentils, coconut milk and stock to the pan, give everything a good stir and bring the dhal to the boil, then turn the heat down to low and cook for 25-30 minutes until the lentils have softened and are cooked through. If after the 30 minutes they are still not soft, cook for an additional 5 minutes.

Meanwhile, roughly chop the cashews and green chilli as well as the whole lemon half, discarding any pips and add a good pinch of salt to make a rough lemon salsa.

Add the spinach and the chopped tomatoes to the lentils and stir through.  Add the juice of 1 of the lemons and taste, whether or not you need the extra lemon is down to your personal preference.  Add some freshly ground pepper and some salt if needed.

Spoon the dhal into bowls and top with the salsa.

- From One Pot, Pan, Planet by Anna Jones