The ultimate dahl (with a cheese toastie for dipping)

The most unexpected but unbelievably delicious and comforting combination you will ever encounter.

Dahl is such a great dish for dinner tonight. It’s easy, quick and oh-so comforting. The gentle blend of smooth spices wrapped in creamy coconut and tomatoes works all year round. I love it as much as a tonic in the dead of winter as I do on a cool summer evening after the heat of the day has rolled away. Beyond the immense comfort a bowl of dahl can bring, I love how easy it is, and more than that, how forgiving it is.

I love how you can experiment with spices depending on what you have to hand and how different you can make it with delicious toppings. You can really zhuzh it up with anything from coconut oil roasted tomatoes, lightly spiced roasted sweet potato, or sticky onions and plenty of fresh herbs. Pickled onions are a personal favourite with dollops of Greek yoghurt streaked through and some finely chopped red chilli and fresh coriander leaves scattered on the top.

Eat it straight from the bowl like soup, with a paratha (or a toasted cheese sandwich) or serve over rice. My mum makes the most amazing homemade chilli jam which is so good with dahl, maybe I will convince her to share her recipe with us all.

There is always a stand out dish on every episode I record of Desert Island Dishes. A dish a guest described that really captures my attention and I know I have to try it immediately. It was Ravinder Bhogal who described one of her ultimate comfort dishes as a steaming bowl of dahl with a toasted cheese sandwich dipped in it. And the moment she said it I could think if nothing else.

We’ve all probably enjoyed the pure joy that is a bowl of tomato soup with buttered toast dipped in it. Now toasted cheese sandwiches with tomato soup are quite a standard thing all over the internet, and the logic for the toasted cheese and dahl is the same. It’s so incredibly good.

This dahl is perfect for Dinner Tonight and whether you choose to add the cheese toastie is up to you. Although I highly recommend you do. Both recipes are below.