Bombay-style cauliflower with red split lentils

Sometimes you find a gem by accident because you have a few ingredients and wondering what to do with them. This recipe is in the cookbook by Madhur Jaffrey that a friend gifted us after cooking us curry dinners at university.

We are delighted by how simple it is to make and how different it tastes to many of the dishes in our repertoire. As we have a vegetarian friend coming over to dinner this week, we thought this would be the perfect dish to make because usually the chicken is added at the last minute.

The original recipe is called Murghi aur mansoor dal or Bombay-style chicken with red split lentils. As we're serving this to a vegetarian, we have substituted the chicken with cauliflower.

The ingredients for 2 people are:

80-100g red split lentils

1 medium onion, peeled and chopped

1 fresh green chilli (we like it hot so we use 1 chilli per person)

1 teaspoon cumin seeds

1 teaspoon ginger, finely chopped

400-500ml water

Put these in a pan and simmer for 45 minutes.

If you're using cauliflower, cut 200g to pieces and steam for 3 minutes and let it cool.

Fry in a small pan the following, until the garlic brown around the edges:

1 tablespoon vegetable oil

2 cloves of garlic, chopped

1 teaspoon of ginger, finely chopped

1/2 teaspoon cumin

1/3 teaspoon cayenne pepper

Add to the simmering lentils, along with:

Juice of 1 lemon

1/2 tsp salt, to taste

1/3 teaspoon garam masala

And cook another 5 minutes.

In the meantime, fry the cauliflower (or chicken pieces) in the pan used for frying the spices, until brown. This is around 3-4 minutes. Then add to the lentils and mix well before serving with fluffy Basmati rice. The lemon gives it a zingy flavour and you will like the heat and bite from the green chilli. It's not going to numb your tongue, but it's going to be hot enough.

It was so good our friend now wants the recipe!

Comments

Delicious thinly sliced pork in Korean marinade

Sometimes you found a recipe and wrote it down on a piece of paper to try it out. Having done that, you forget where the recipe came from. Likewise this Korean recipe for pork, which turned out to be so delicious we have cooked it for everyone. The marinade is simple to make and yet really packed with flavours. For the Korean marinade you need 3 garlic cloves 1/2 brown onion 1/2 a pear or apple Blitz these ingredients together and then add 5 tablespoons soy sauce (I use Kikkoman) 3 tablespoons caster sugar 2 tablespoons sesame oil 3 tablespoons mirin black pepper For dinner for 2 people, 200g pork tenderloin is enough. Slice this thinly, and bash it to an even thinner piece with a meat mallet. Marinade in the sauce and leave it in the fridge for an hour. Then heat a frying pan on medium heat with a teaspoon of vegetable oil and fry the thin pork pieces until browned. You want some of the edges of the meat to be dark brown and caramelised, if you can. Don't cook too many pieces or

Explore the rich musical tradition of the Royal Navy at a special two-day event at Portsmouth Historic Dockyard

Whether you love sea shanties full of salty metaphors and swashbuckling action, or the stirring sound of a military band with brass and drums, there will be music across Portsmouth Historic Dockyard in a new event on Friday 23rd and Saturday 24th June 2023, which is completely free with a valid ticket to the given attractions. The rich history of music in the Royal Navy is being explored at a brand new two-day event, featuring a wide range of musical performances and styles, from The Royal Marines School of Music to Tudor Opera singing with Jay Britton. Portsmouth Historic Dockyard comes alive with music, beginning on Friday 23rd June, with a special Solent Shanty singing event in collaboration with the Portsmouth Music Hub. This special collaboration has allowed the museum to host a special performance of sea shanties by over 700 children in the shadow of the legendary HMS Victory. This new event continues on Saturday 24th June, featuring performances across Portsmouth Historic Docky

‘Southsea dinosaur’ returns

Luna Park 2021, an eagerly anticipated new public artwork for Portsmouth designed by internationally renowned artists Ivan Morison and Heather Peak of Studio Morison will be launched on 2 October 2021 on a celebratory day in Southsea Common. The 1.4 metres bronze sculpture is a tribute to the original 53-foot high 2010 artwork Luna Park, which tragically burned down on Southsea Common. The artists will unveil a new sculpture that responds to ten years of public demand to ‘bring back the Southsea Dinosaur’. The new public artwork will be located within a direct sightline to the position of the original Luna Park sculpture. It will sit on top of a fossil Portland stone plinth with a QR code which when scanned with a smartphone will connect to an Augmented Reality experience. People will be transported to a digital rendering of the original artwork, seemingly standing life-size in front of them on Southsea Common. Viewers will also be able to use their mobile devices to visit a digital

SouthseaScene

Search This Blog