Khoresh Kadoo-e-Tond
Spicy courgette and red lentil stew
Servings: 4
Ingredients
- 6 tbsp vegetable oil (sounds punchy but most of it is used to fry the courgettes - see notes above re: oven roasting courgettes as an alternative)
- 3 courgettes
- 1 large onion (finely diced)
- 3 cloves garlic (crushed)
- 1 tsp dried red chilli flakes
- 1 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp tomato purée
- 500 ml passata
- 150 g red lentils
- 500 ml water
- 1/8 tsp saffron (bloomed in 2 tbsp of water)
- Juice from half a lemon
- 10 cherry tomatoes (halved)
- Salt and pepper (to season)
- Chopped fresh mint (to garnish)
Instructions
- Take a large frying pan and pour 4 tbsps of oil into the pan. Place on a medium to high heat.
- Halve the courgettes and then slice them about 2cm thick.
- Sprinkle a little salt and pepper on the slices and fry the courgettes on each side until golden, and soft.
- Remove the courgettes and put on a paper towel to soak up the excess oil.
- Take a large casserole dish or saucepan with a lid (about 3.5 litres capacity) and place on a medium to high heat. Add 2 tbsp of oil, add the onion and fry until golden, stirring now and again.
- Add the garlic, turmeric and chilli and stir. Add the tomato purée and stir in. Once it glistens add the red lentils and stir until evenly distributed.
- Add the passata, 250 ml of the water, the bloomed saffron and fresh lemon juice. Stir and season to taste.
- Once the the stew starts to boil add the remaining 250 ml of water and stir, lower the heat to allow the stew to slowly simmer. Let it simmer for 10 minutes. Add more water if the stew looks too thick.
- Add your courgettes and gently submerge in the stew.
- Scatter your halved tomatoes evenly across the stew, place the lid on the pan and simmer for no less than 45 mins. Once cooking time has finished and you are ready to serve, turn off the heat and garnish with chopped fresh mint and coriander.
- Serve with rice and / or flatbreads.