Supplies

  • 250g red lentils, rinsed until the water runs clear
  • 3 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1/4 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 small onion, roughly chopped
  • 2cm piece fresh root ginger, peeled and roughly
  • chopped
  • 3 garlic cloves, peeled
  • 2 tomatoes
  • 35g ghee/butter
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2 small green chillies, thinly sliced
  • 12 curry leaves
  • 3/4 tsp garam masala
  • 1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
  • 75g greek yoghurt
  • 2 spring onions, finely chopped
  • 2 tbsp fresh mint leaves, chopped, plus more to
  • garnish
  • Zest ½ a lemon
  • salt and freshly ground black pepper

Steps

  1. Preheat the oven to 200 C / 180 C fan.
  2. Cut the tops off the peppers and remove the seeds. Place onto a baking tray and roast in the oven for 20 minutes.
  3. Place the lentils, turmeric and 750ml of water into a pan, stir well and bring to the boil. Skim off any froth that forms on the surface of the water with a spoon. Cover the pan with a lid and reduce the heat to a simmer. Simmer, stirring regularly, for 20 minutes, or until the lentils are just tender, adding more water as necessary.
  4. Set the mixture aside to thicken and cool.
  5. Place the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes into a food processor and blitz until smooth.
  6. Heat the ghee in a pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for 20–30 seconds, or until fragrant. Add the curry leaves and sliced chilli and fry for a further 20 - 30 seconds.
  7. Add the blitzed paste and fry for 4–5 minutes, or until darker in colour and thickened.
  8. Add the ground spices to the pan along with 100 millilitres water and stir well to combine. Season, to taste and simmer over a medium heat for 15–20 minutes, or until the oil from the sauce has risen to the surface of the sauce.
  9. Add the cooked lentils and spinach to the sauce and stir well, cooking until the spinach has just wilted. Fill the peppers with the lentil mixture and place back into the oven to bake for a further 20 minutes.
  10. Mix together the yoghurt, spring onions, mint and lemon zest then serve on top of the peppers.