Our resident chef columnist on how to jazz up your dahl breakfast with some festive leftovers

Often at weekends I have the urge for a spicy breakfast, usually in the form of a masala omelette, but between Christmas and New Year I was having a bit of an annual larder clear out and made a kind of dahl soup with chestnuts in to finish.

I had a bit of mid-morning inspiration and served it thickened up a bit with a poached Burford Brown and thinly sliced chilli scattered on top. It’s now officially on my pick-me-up breakfast brunch list.

Yellow split pea Dahl with a poached Burford Brown recipe

Serves four

Ingredients

• 1 small onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 clove of garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1 small green chilli, finely chopped
• 1tbsp ghee or vegetable oil
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 tsp fenugreek seeds
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 1 tsp black mustard seeds
• 600ml vegetable stock
• 100g split yellow lentils (dahl), soaked overnight in cold water
• Salt and freshly ground black pepper
• A handful of roast chestnuts

METHOD

• Gently cook the onion, garlic and chilli in the ghee for a couple of minutes, until soft, then add all the spices and continue cooking for a couple more minutes.
• Next, add the vegetable stock, chestnuts and split yellow lentils to the pan and season.
• Bring to the boil and simmer for about 20-30 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked.
• Serve with a poached Burford Brown egg and some coriander.