Tom Hunt's recipe for tin-can curry: five-minute dal - MW

Canned foods have the best day before about three years, but still have good ability to eat decades later, making it an invaluable backup. This also helps you prevent food waste by allowing you to save more on perishable purchases - although, with fresh food, you should turn the can in the cupboard, bring short-term items home. ahead, so you can build them up during the week's meals.

Along with helping to reduce food waste, canned food is a good choice compared to other packaged foods, because cans made from a relatively low-impact material are actually recycled, unlike like most plastics and Tetrapak. It is also worth noting that, no matter how new, if a tin box has dents or rust, it is safest to incubate the contents to avoid Clostridium botulinum-causing bacteria.

The Iveve often have a reliable pile of lentils, beans and tomatoes, and today's dish is a mixture of these stalwarts, made into a super-fast dal. If you have any fresh vegetables to use, add them diced at the same time with onions.

Tin can curry: lentils five minutes
Canned foods that are often forgotten and mislabeled are of poor quality, low in nutrients and tasteless. Canned foods take up a small amount of nutrition, but to increase economic benefits, save time and waste, I believe they should be staples in cabinets in every home. This Dal is as simple as possible and only takes five minutes to make from only a few ingredients.

Server 4

1 tbsp of oil
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tbsp garam masala
150g frozen or canned spinach
1 x 400g green or brown lentils
1 x 400g bean - kidney, black or other
1 x 400g tomatoes can be chopped

Serve
Rice
4 sprigs of coriander, leaf-picking, finely chopped stalks (optional)
4 tablespoons yogurt, (optional)

Heat oil in pan, add onion and garam masala, and sauté for two minutes.

Add spinach, tomatoes, lentils and beans, including their liquids, wash all clean cans with a drop of water each time and add it to the pot.

Bring the mixture to a boil, stirring in the meantime, then serve with rice, topped with a jar of yogurt and coriander, if desired.