Blooming Onion with Dhal

The best way to describe this is like an onion flower! Blooming Onion with Dhal served with a dip of Greek yoghurt, coriander, mint leaves, garlic and lemon!
James Martin

Ingredients

Dhal

80g butter
1 onion, diced
5-cm piece fresh ginger, chopped
3 garlic cloves, chopped
1 red chilli, diced
2 tsp black mustard seeds
1½ tsp turmeric
2 tsp ground coriander
2 tsp garam masala
250g red lentils
handful of coriander, chopped
1 lemon, juiced

Blooming Onion

2 large onions, peeled
100ml milk
100g plain flour
Vegetable oil, for frying

Dip

100g thick Greek yoghurt
1 small bunch of coriander
a few mint leaves
1 garlic clove
1 lemon, juice only

Method

For the dhal, melt half the butter in a large saucepan over a medium to high heat. Add the chopped onion and fry, stirring regularly, for about 10 mins, or until soft and golden.
Stir in the ginger, garlic and chilli, and fry for another minute, then add the mustard seeds, turmeric, coriander and garam masala. Season well and cook the spices for 1-2 min
Add the red lentils and 750ml water, then reduce the heat to a simmer and cook the lentils for 30 mins until tender. You may have to add a little more water, depending on how large your pan is.
Finish with herbs and lemon juice.

For the onions, slice down the centre of each onion ¾ of the way down; turn 90 degrees and slice again. Keep slicing each section in half until you have 12 sections. Be careful not to cut through the bottom of the onion. Gently pull apart, then dip the milk followed by the flour. Fry at 160°C for 6-8 mins, then drain.