Whole green lentil stew

It is nice to know that there are as many healthy Indian choices as there are those
with coconut milk or a half cup of oil. The whole green lentil stew is one such dish. The best thing about this dish is that it has a good amount of kick to it, and I love a good kick. It's also simple. You can almost say "set it and forget it."

A note about this recipe: when cooked with the listed ingredients, it lived up to the name of "stew." It also wasn't much of a yield. I would suggest either doubling the recipe, or doubling the lentils and adding 6 cups of water instead of 7 (if doubled) to make it thicker.

1/2 C whole green lentils
3.5 C of water
1 small tomato
3 garlic cloves with slits cut into them to release the flavor
1/4 t turmeric
1/2 t Ground red pepper (cayenne)
3/4 t salt
2 T of vegetable oil
1/4 t Cumin seeds
1/2 small onion, diced
1 t peeled and finely diced fresh ginger

Rinse the lentils 3 times, making sure there are no rocks or other debris. Combine the lentils, water, tomato, 1 garlic clove, turmeric, cayenne, and salt into a pan and bring to a roiling boil on low heat. Once it comes up to a boil, stir, and reduce to medium-low and cover. Stir occasionally and simmer for about 40 minutes.

In a frying pan, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds and brown for about 10 seconds. Immediately add the onion, ginger and 2 garlic cloves and sauté for about 5-6 minutes until the onion is browned,

Add the spices to the lentils and stir to combine.

-NOM!