Lentil Dal with Tomato

1 cup black French Puy lentils
3 cups water

1 large onion, finely diced
1 carrot, finely diced
2 stalks celery, finely diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 inch piece fresh ginger, minced

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp fennel seeds
1 cinnamon stick
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes
2 cups crushed tomatoes
1 tsp fenugreek powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1/2 tsp salt

Bring water to a boil in a medium pot. Add lentils and cook for about 20 minutes or just until softened, but not fully cooked. Meanwhile, sauté the onion, carrot and celery in another pot in a bit of canola oil, until very soft and fragrant, about 10 minutes. Add the garlic, Ginger, cumin, fennel, cinnamon stick, and pepper flakes, and continue cooking another 2-3 minutes.

Add the lentils to the veggie mixture, and stir in the tomatoes, fenugreek, coriander and salt. Cook another 20-30 minutes until the lentils are nice and soft. Add water as needed to maintain a nice saucy consistency.