Finely dice the onions and fry them slowly in olive oil over a medium heat until golden brown. Take your time here – this is where the full flavour comes from.
Stir in the garlic and ginger and fry briefly until fragrant. Stir regularly so nothing darkens.
Add the tomato purée and berbere spice mix and toast briefly. This makes the flavours rounder and stronger.
Add the red lentils and vegetable stock to the pan and bring everything to the boil. Then turn down the heat.
Simmer the stew, covered, until the lentils are soft and falling apart. Stir now and then and season with salt at the end.
Serve hot, traditionally with injera, or with rice or naan instead.
Good to know
This stew is warm, spicy and pleasantly simple. It tastes deep and rounded, even though the ingredient list stays short.
Swaps
Red lentils → yellow lentils (similar protein content, a little milder in flavour); olive oil → avocado oil (stable at high heat and mostly monounsaturated fats); vegetable stock → passata plus water (adds tomato compounds); injera → brown rice (more fibre than white rice)
Allergens
The recipe is naturally vegan and usually free from soya, nuts and milk; check the berbere and stock for ingredients, reduce the heat for children, and during pregnancy make sure everything is prepared hygienically.
