Black Dahl with Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Chilli

If you’ve tried our Slow Roasted Tomatoes with Chilli and Garlic, you’ll know that it’s a dish with an intense, savoury-sweet taste that can be used as the basis for loads of other recipes. With just a tiny bit of tweaking, it makes the perfect foundation for this subtly spicy, fresh-tasting black dahl dish.

Last night I served this up with basmati rice and our Best Roasted Butternut Squash Ever (it really is – we promise that there is no finer way to cook the orange stuff). Tonight I’m going full-on Mexican style with salad, guacamole and Arroz Verde (si, hablo espanol 😉 How’s that for a versatile recipe?

You have some healthy protein and carbs in the dahl and the tomatoes and garlic are positively fizzing with anti-oxidants (well, not literally but you know what I mean). As the slow roasted tomato recipe is great for so many other dishes too, just scale up the ingredients if you want to make extra.

Note: you’ll need to soak the dahl overnight so plan ahead for this one. 

Black Dahl with Slow Roasted Tomatoes and Chilli
Serves 4

Ingredients
150g black urad dahl, SOAKED OVERNIGHT
100ml vegetable stock
1/2kg tomatoes, halved (I used cherry tomatoes but any kind will do)
6-10 cloves garlic, crushed with the flat of a knife but not peeled
Half an onion, sliced
1 teaspoon dried chili flakes
2 tablespoons olive oil
Salt and ground black pepper to taste

Method
1 Heat the oven to 170C (325F / Gas Mark 3).
2 While the oven is warming up, rinse the soaked dahl a cover with cold water in a large pan. With the lid on the pan, bring the water to the boil then reduce to a simmer. It should take about an hour for the dahl to cook but keep an eye on it throughout in case it needs extra water.
3 When the dahl is simmering, place the halved tomatoes, sliced onion, garlic cloves and chilli flakes in a large roasting tin. Add the olive oil and salt and pepper. Mix well.
3 Cook for 30 minutes then turn the tomatoes over.
4 Cook for a further 30 minutes until the tomatoes are soft and squishy.
5 The garlic will be soft now too. Squeeze the pulp onto the tomatoes and discard the skin.
6 When the dahl is cooked, drain it and return it to the pan. Add the roasted tomato mix and the 100ml of vegetable stock. Heat through thoroughly.

Serve with a salad, with curry dishes or Mexican style, as mentioned above. This dish really is versatility in dinner form 😉