Chickpea & Coconut Dahl with Curried Onion Bhajis & Naan

Serves 4

INGREDIENTS:

½ green chilli, chopped

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 cloves garlic, crushed

2cm piece root ginger, grated

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp mild curry powder

2 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped

1 tin (400ml) coconut milk

1 tin (400g) chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 tin (400g) green lentils, drained and rinsed

80g baby spinach

Handful coriander, chopped, to serve

For the curried onion bhajis:

2 onions, sliced into thin rings

100g gram flour

½ tsp baking powder

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

½ tsp chilli powder

½ tsp turmeric

50g coriander, chopped

For the raita:

¼ cucumber, grated

250g Greek yogurt

Handful mint, chopped

Handful coriander, chopped

½ tsp garam masala

1 clove garlic, crushed

½ lime, juice only

To serve:

1 pack (2) M&S garlic and coriander naans

Handful coriander, chopped

2 limes, each cut into four wedges

METHOD:

First, make the onion bhajis. Soak the sliced onions in a bowl of cold water while you make the base mix.
Sift the flour and baking powder into a bowl and add the dried spices, a good pinch of sea salt and the fresh chopped coriander. Gently whisk in 100ml cold water to make a thick batter.
Drain the onions and squeeze out any excess liquid. Fold the onions through the batter.
Heat a 5cm layer of vegetable oil, for shallow-frying, in a deep pan over a medium heat. Add a tiny speck of batter – if it rises to the surface surrounded by bubbles and begins to brown, then the oil is hot enough for frying.
Spoon the bhaji mixture into the pan a few tablespoons at a time and cook for about 4 minutes, until evenly brown and crisp, ensuring they are cooked through. Drain on kitchen paper, sprinkle with a little salt and keep warm while you cook the rest.
To make the dahl, heat 1 tbsp vegetable oil in a large casserole dish over a medium heat. Add the chilli, cumin seeds, garlic and ginger and cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add the turmeric and curry powder and cook for a further 30 seconds.
Stir in the chopped tomatoes, coconut milk, chickpeas and lentils along with 1 tsp sea salt and simmer for 7-8 minutes.
Meanwhile, make the raita. Put the cucumber into a bowl and squeeze out as much liquid as possible using your hands, then remove. In another bowl, mix the cucumber with the rest of the raita ingredients, season with salt and chill until ready to serve.
While the dahl is cooking, using the back of a wooden spoon, crush ¼ of the chickpeas and lentils against the side of the pan. This will thicken the sauce.
Remove the dahl from the heat, stir in the spinach and scatter with the coriander.
Heat the naans according to the pack instructions and scatter with the coriander. Cut into halves and serve with the dahl, bhajis, raita and lime wedges.