Tag: #curry

Meat free Mondays Recipe
Alliyah Dawud
August 19, 2019

Masala fried Daal (Gram Lentils)

Now we know I advocate pre-cooking lentils that take a while to cook before hand and freezing them. Primarily because when its a weeknight and you want to cook something in a hurry you haven’t got time to bring out the big guns (pressure cooker) and work quicker.

This is one of my favourite lentil recipes that packs a full punch of awesome flavour. I have used pre-cooked and frozen gram lentils here. If you wish to substitute them with non-pre cooked lentils you need to factor in cooking and pre-soaking time. For convience I do the whole cook once and freeze business.

Gram lentils are basically black chick peas that have had the outer shell removed, and the inner ‘pea’ has been split to create this rich, earthy lentil. I love chickpeas and love gram flour (basan) too. After all who doesn’t like a crispy, onion and spinach Pakora right?

Masala fried daal is one of those daals you find on restaurant menus around the world and find no two (in my opinion) taste the same. Some cooks use more hotness, some use more ginger. Some opt for sourness, some add shredded mint. It really is a recipe with room for personalisation to cater for your own needs.

I do serve my daal with plain boiled rice or naans. You can select what works for you.

To serve four you will need:

225 grams pre-cooked gram lentils (or raw lentils, washed and soaked in BOILING water for 1 hour prior to cooking).

1 heaped TBSP garlic paste (or 4 cloves of fresh garlic; crushed)

4 TBSP pre-fried onions soaked in water and drained (or 1 medium onion; peeled and finely sliced)

3 TBSP oil

150 ML of passata (or half a tin of tomatoes; chopped)

750 ML (0.75 litre) water

1 small piece of ginger-sliced (you could use half a TSP of ginger powder if you wish. I generally fish out the ginger before serving)

4 TBSP fresh coriander (including stalks) finely chopped

Cooking salt-to your taste

1 heap TSP turmeric

1 heap TSP chili powder

4 green chilies (prickled all over with a fork)

Optional extras to serve:

Rice
Naans
Pickles
Fresh onions (sliced)
Lemon wedge
Fried onions
Shredded mint
Fresh sliced green chili
Fresh coriander leaves
Yogurt-for children in particular is the daal is on the spicier side.

Please note: the measurements given are in line with what I like. Please feel free to adjust according to your own needs. I avoid telling people how much salt to add as it really is down to your own daily consumption and needs.

1) Pre-heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 30 seconds. If the onions stick stir and add a little water if needed (I TBSP at a time). If you are using fresh onions fry until lightly golden.

2) Add the garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minutes stirring well.

3) Now add the salt, turmeric and chili powder. Stir well. Fry for around 1 minute to cook the spices through. Add a TBSP of water is the mixture sticks.

4) Add the green chilies and stir in. Fry for 1 minute.

5) Add the passata. Stir well for around 5 minutes. This step creates the masala for the daal.

6) Add the lentils and coriander and stir to cover the lentils in the sauce. It will look dry but don’t worry. Now add the water and bring to the boil.

7) Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. Now if you used pre-cooked lentils it takes around 25 minutes for this to happen. But it can take longer or less time depending on your lentils and how much you cooked them in the first place.
If you are using non-pre cooked lentils I find it takes over 2 hours to become tender and I don’t have the patience for this! What you can do is if you have a Slow Cooker you could transfer the daal at this point to the cooker and let it simmer away. I’ve done this a few times and find it works well. But ask me to keep an eye on lentils for hours on a stove and I will literally cry.

Remove the ginger pieces (if you used slices).

8) Garnish as you wish or serve as is. You Masala Daal is ready to eat.

Meat Free Monday
Alliyah Dawud
August 5, 2019

Easy Aubergine Curry

I recall my Nan cooking Aubergines (aka eggplants) in an old fashioned clay Tandoor. She used to make a dish called ‘Bartha’ which was a smoky curry made with baked versions that are scooped out.

I love these deep purple gems.

In this curry you’ll notice there’s no tomatoes or onions. It’s a simple straight forward curry flavoured with lemon and dill. It’s a delicious combination.

To make two portions (or possibly 3 depending on how big you have your portions) you will need:

3 large cloves of garlic-minced
2 TBSP oil
2 large aubergines cut into strips
Salt-to your own requirement
1 TBSP coriander powder
1 TBSP cumin powder
1 TSP chili powder
1 TSP turmeric
Water
Juice of two lemons.
1 heaped TBSP chopped dill

1) Heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat.
2) Add the garlic and fry for one minute.
3) Add the spices and salt and fry for 30 seconds.
4) Add the aubergine strips and stir the aubergines until they are all covered in the spicy oil.
5) Keep frying the aubergines and stirring them for 4/5 minutes.
6) Now add 4 TBSP water and the dill. Stir well. Lower the heat and simmer until the aubergines are soft.
7) Drizzle over the lemon juice. Your aubergines are ready to serve.

Enjoy with Naans or plain rice.

Meat Free Mondays…
Stylemesisteradmin
July 29, 2019

Easy Lobia Masala

As part of my Meat Free Mondays I am featuring Curries. Why? Because I love cooking Curries.

One of my favourite lentils/daals is the classic Black Eye Pea aka Lobia. I love the earthiness of it. It’s a robust bean and is versatile. You can mash it up for burgers and nuggets, cook it in a curry or add it to salads.

I usually pre-boil the peas and freeze them. I find this the most economical way. However if you don’t have freezer space yet have a Slow Cooker you can utilise that and pre-cook the peas the night before. It’s not much work but it keeps costs low.

This is a rather spicy dish. Feel free to adjust the spices to your own taste buds.

I do serve my daals/pulses with plain boiled rice or naans. You can select what works for you.

To serve four you will need:

225 grams pre-cooked Lobia aka black eye peas (or raw lentils, washed and soaked in BOILING water for 1 hour prior to cooking).

ALTERNATIVE: 2 x 400 grams (Approx) cooked Black eye peas. Rinse and drained. If you take this option you need to reduce the cooking time by a few minutes (so around 5 minutes) rather than a full 10 minutes. This is to stop turning it to mush.

1 heaped TBSP garlic paste (or 4 cloves of fresh garlic; crushed)

4 TBSP pre-fried onions soaked in water and drained (or 1 medium onion; peeled and finely sliced)

2 TBSP oil

3 green chilies-sliced in half

150 ML of passata (or half a tin of tomatoes; chopped)

750 ML (0.75 litre) water

1 small piece of ginger-sliced (you could use half a TSP of ginger powder if you wish. I generally fish out the ginger before serving)

4 TBSP fresh coriander (including stalks) finely chopped

Cooking salt-to your taste

1 heap TSP turmeric

1 TSP amchoor aka mango powder. If you can’t find any you can use the juice of two limes. Amchoor is a souring agent.

Please note: the measurements given are in line with what I like. Please feel free to adjust according to your own needs. I avoid telling people how much salt to add as it really is down to your own daily consumption and needs.

1) Pre-heat the oil in a large pan on a medium heat. Add the onions and fry for 30 seconds. If the onions stick stir and add a little water if needed (I TBSP at a time). If you are using fresh onions fry until lightly golden.

2) Add the garlic and ginger. Fry for 1 minutes stirring well.

3) Now add the salt, turmeric and chili powder. Stir well. Fry for around 1 minute to cook the spices through. Add a TBSP of water is the mixture sticks.

4) Add the green chilies and stir in. Fry for 1 minute.

5) Add the passata. Stir well for around 5 minutes. This step creates the masala for the Lobia.

6) Add the lobia and coriander and stir to cover the lentils in the sauce. It will look dry but don’t worry. Now add the water and bring to the boil.

7) Reduce the heat and simmer until the lentils are tender. Now if you used pre-cooked lentils it takes around 15 minutes for this to happen. But it can take longer or less time depending on your lentils and how much you cooked them in the first place.
If you are using non-pre cooked lentils I find it takes over 3.5 hours to become tender and I don’t have the patience for this! What you can do is if you have a Slow Cooker you could transfer the daal at this point to the cooker and let it simmer away. I’ve done this a few times and find it works well. But ask me to keep an eye on lentils for hours on a stove and I will literally cry.

Remove the ginger pieces (if you used slices).

8) Garnish as you wish or serve as is. Lobia Masala is ready to eat.

Tarka Daal
Alliyah Dawud
July 15, 2019

Meat Free Mondays

I’ve always naturally leaned towards vegetarian food. Perhaps the fact I love lentils a tad bit too much for a lot of people’s liking is the reason I love a good vegetarian curry.

I love a good curry. None of this paste/out of a pack business (I’m Asian so….) it’s from fresh and needs to be cooked to perfection.

Since I was a child Tarka Daal has been my comfort food. Over the years I tried pimping it up however I always resort back to the basic, original homely edition.

My plate of daal usually contains more daal than rice (I’ve reduced carbs in my daily diet) plus pickles and freshly sliced red onions dressed in lemon. And that’s it. No fancy garam masala. No fancy business. It’s good old fashioned food like my late Nana and Grandmother would have made.

This daal cooks super quickly. If I pre-soak the lentils it takes 15-20 minutes. If I don’t it takes about 25 minutes. If I know I’m making daal I do tend to soak them before hand. Its not essential. Whilst the daal is cooking I tend to cook the rice (basmati folks; rules are rules in my house).

So what is Tarka Daal. Well Tarka just means tempering. In this case we use oil, garli and chilies. For some other recipes you may find mustard seeds, curry leaves, ginger, tomatoes and other wonderful ingredients too. But this is a simple, filling and amazing recipe that literally is a few ingredients.
Daal is the hindi/urdu for lentils.
It’s really that simple….the recipe is Tempered Split Red Lentils.

Tarka daal freezes well and if you really are one of those people that like to cook once a week you could freeze portions of daal with rice to have a ready meal on hand.

There’s method to my madness (How I calculate the volume of liquid for my daal)
I ‘measure’ by volume (e.g. place the lentils in a glass) and then double the amount of liquid. It’s that simple. So if I cook say one large mug of lentils I add 2 large mugs of water. And this gives me a thick daal. I do like thick daals and also eat it like a soup (minus the rice). Low in carb, highly filling and so good. I find the fragrance warm and earthy so I feel you could easily take a mug of this to work and ‘not offend’ the less adventurous people.
If you do decide to consume the daal as a soup consider a good squeeze of lemon as a garnish.

To make 4 big bowls of Tarka Daal you will need:

1 glass red lentils (approximately 250 grams) washed
2 glasses water (approximately 500-550 ml)
Cooking salt-to your on taste
1 level TBSP Chili Powder
1 TSP Turmeric (haldi)-for a more earthy taste use more. For a less earthy taste reduce the amount. I love the golden colour it gives and Turmeric is a wonder spice.
OPTIONAL: 1-2 dried red chilies (I like a hot daal)

2 TBSP fresh coriander-including stalks chopped finely

Tempering aka Tarka

3 TSBP oil (I’ve successfully used Rapeseed oil, sunflower oil, vegetable oil and olive oil).
4 cloves of garlic sliced thinly (I would use more but if I am going to serve the daal to someone I generally have a rule of 1 clove to 1 bowl. But if you love garlic and are eating alone you can go up to 6 cloves for the recipe).

3 green chilies slit (or prick them well all over so they don’t explode

1) Wash the lentils until the water runs clear. You can use the water to water your plants.

2) Place the lentils in a large pot and add the salt and spices followed by the water.

3) Place on a medium heat and bring to the boil. I usually leave a wooden spoon in my pot as I believe it stops the pan from boiling over. Once the lentils come up to the boil reduce the heat and remove the foam that you can now see floating on top of the lentils. You don’t want that to be a part of the lentils.

4) Add the coriander, stir and simmer. I stir a few times throughout simmering and find it takes about 15 minutes post boil for lentils to become tender. Now if you are happy with the consistency turn the heat off. If you want it more runnier add a bit more boiling water (you don’t want to bring down the lentils tempreture). If you want it a bit more thicker leave the heat on and allow it to simmer a bit more.

5) Heat the oil in a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the garlic and chilies and reduce the heat to avoid burning anything. Stir well (and turn the chilies over). You only want the garlic to be golden NOT burnt so once the garlic is turning golden kill the heat.

6) Pour the tempering over the lentils. Job done.

7) Serve the daal as is, or with rice, roti….or however takes your fancy.

Enjoy.

Additional notes:

you can ‘flavour’ the daal with vegetable stock if you wish to serve it as a soup.

Tarka Daal can be frozen….why not freeze up portions with rice for a quick freezer meal?

Coriander and Lemon Potato Curry
Alliyah Dawud
May 3, 2019


I’ll be frank with you. I love curries but I get bored of the same old same old situation.
When the (former) Boss and I decided to have Lunch at mine I created what I would consider a Vegetarian Banquet. I absolutely love vegetarian curries. I believe they showcase how awesome and easy vegetables are to work with. Plus with my healthy food kick I am always looking at healthier meals. It helps that I love daals/pulses!

One of the curries I created was this one. Its a simple, frugal curry I believe is perfect for Spring and Summer as it’s lighter than other curries. There’s no tomatoes in this curry and that’s why it wouldn’t look like a standard red curry.

I serve this curry with plain boiled rice. It also tastes equally awesome the next day. It cooks in less than 30 minutes and children love it too.

This recipe is actually VEGAN. So to my vegan readers I hope this is music to their ears.

To serve 4-6 people (depending on curry portion sizes)

400 grams (baby potatoes work, as do standard potatoes cut into rounds that are pound thickness).
2 RBSP rapeseed oil
1 large onion sliced thinly
5 cloves of garlic-crushed
4 TBSP fresh coriander (including stalks) chopped finely
2 lemons-juiced
1 TBSP coriander seed powder crushed
1 TBSP cumin powder
Salt-to taste
OPTIONAL: 1 TSP chili powder or 1 TSP chili flakes.
1500-2000 ml water (plain stuff from the tap)

To serve:
Lemon wedges (optional)
Yogurt (vegan to keep the recipe vegan)-optional
Plain boiled rice ( I use Basmati).

I assume you guys have prepared the ingredients as above…lets get cracking.

1) Heat the oil in a large pot on a medium heat. Add the sliced onion and fry until onions are soft NOT browned.
2) Add the potatoes and stir well. ‘Fry’ for 5 minutes stirring to ensure the potatoes don’t stick.
3) Now add the garlic and fry for one minute. You’ll be ‘hit’ with a shot of garlic scent. That tells us we are ready for the next step.
4) Now add the salt and dried spices. Stir well to coat the potatoes. If the spices start to ‘burn’ or the mixture starts to stick add 2 TBSP of water to the potatoes.
5) Add HALF the coriander. Stir well.
6) Now add 1500 ml (1.5 litres) to the potatoes. Bring to the boil and then reduce the heat and cover the pan. You need to cook the potatoes until tender. Now this will vary depending on which potatoes you are using. So after 8 minutes ‘test’ the spuds. I usually do this by carefully inserting a sharp knife tip into the potato. If it starts to fall apart its done. It its hard as nails you need to cook it more. I found my standard potatoes took 18 minutes too cook. Now you will be thinking why do you have water left over? Answer: if you want a more ‘runny’ curry you need to add all the liquid. If you prefer a drier curry stick to 1500 ml. Always remember that if water evaporates too quickly the potatoes won’t cook and you need to add more. It’s that simple.
7) Once the potatoes are cooked turn off the heat. Now add the remaining coriander and lemon juice. Stir through.
8) Serve!

I served with rice but you can serve the curry with Naans or maybe Parathas.

Store leftovers in the fridge and warm through thoroughly before serving.

Delicious.