ingredients

• One medium onion
• A little olive oil - sunflower is fine too
• Approximately 200-300 grammes of red lentils, moong dal or a mixture of both*
• About a pint and a half of boiling water
• About a teaspoon of low salt vegetable stock. I use Marigold.
• Two teaspoons of panch phoran/Bengali five spice*
• Two teaspoons of turmeric
• One 400 gramme tin of chopped tomatoes/plum tomatoes
• Optional handful of fresh coriander
• Optionl handful of crumbled feta cheese (for non-vegan version

Ingredient Notes:

1. Moong Dal look a bit like small oval lentils. They're actually skinned moong beans which have the advantage of cooking down really quickly to a lovely soft and yielding, but not mushy texture. You can generally get them cheaply and in large quantities from asian grocers. Don't mix them up with chana dal, which are a similar colour but larger. Chana dal are split chick peas and cook much more slowly.
2. Phanch phoran or bengali five spice is usually a mix of the following five spices: Fenugreek, Nigella (Methi), mustard seed, fennel seed, cumin seed. Again, usually available cheaply from asian grocers. If you can't find this, most supermarkets will sell everything but the nigella - and for this oregano makes a good subsitute. No, really....

method

Finely chop your onion and sweat over a low heat with a dash of olive oil until it becomes translucent. Use a deep pan which is large enough to hold a couple of pints of liquid - and which has a lid.

If you are cooking this recipe for comfort, take your jacket and your work shoes off and enjoy the smell of cooking onions!

In a pestle and mortar, crush two teaspoons of panch phoran/bengali five spice mixture. If you don't have a pestle and mortar, this step isn't essential, it just helps to release the fragrance of the spices a little.

If you've had a really bad day, take extra long over this crushing motion. It might help.

Add your crushed spices to your onions, keeping the pan over a low heat. Stir a couple of times, inhale, then add your two teaspoons of turmeric. Stir a couple of times and then add your lentils.

It's really important that your pan is over a low heat as if it's too hot the turmeric powder will catch the back of your throat and feel slightly choking. Think sweat and not sizzle.

Stir the lentils a couple of times just to coat with the onion and spice mixture then add approximately a pint and a half of boiling water in which you've dissolved a teaspoon of Marigold (optional).

Put the lid on the pan, raise to a low-medium heat and relax for 10-15 minutes. Exact cooking time will depend on the mix and the age of your lentils.

Come back, take the lid off, carefully extract a spoonful of hot lentil. When it's cooled down slightly, test it. Are those moong dal soft and yielding? Are those red lentils good and mushy? Yes? (If not, check at five minute intervals, applying common sense so that your pan doesn't burn).

Once your lentils are soft, turn your heat right down to low and stir in a tin of tomatoes. Replace the lid and leave for a further five to ten minutes - this should be a bare, gentle simmer.

Whilst it's finishing off, prepare your optional finishing touches. Chop a handful of coriander and stir into the soup, retaining a bit to sprinkle on top if you're decoratively inclined.

Serve. Ideally it should be hot, but comfortingly so, not scorchingly.

At this point you can sprinkle on your crumbled feta and season with black pepper to taste.

And relax. Enjoy.