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

I Am Only Human After All film premiere

Portsmouth Film Society (PFS) continues to deliver on its mission to help break down social barriers and unite diverse cultures with the premieres of four short films on 30 May at the New Theatre Royal, Portsmouth. Portsmouth citizens from all backgrounds have come together to tell their stories. Many people will be able to identify with the difficult subjects of these films; homelessness, substance misuse and recovery, disability and multiculturalism. Whether they have experience of these topics themselves, or only in passing, PFS hopes that projects like these will encourage discussion amongst their viewers. These short films are the result of a 20-week course held at the University of Portsmouth where participants were introduced to all aspects of film-making including script writing, casting, directing, filming and editing. They then became the producers, directors, screenwriters and actors in their own films. The program also included lectures by local film makers and an...

Indonesian fried spring rolls (Lumpia Goreng)

I don't often make Indonesian food because the ingredients are hard to find, but our local supermarkets are getting better at stocking ethnic ingredients. In the frozen section of Tesco, near the samosas, you can find the spring roll pastry. Don't bother asking the branch in Chester. I was laughed at by the cashier when I asked for spring roll skin, because 'skin' is what we call the wrapper in Indonesian. Her more helpful colleague offered me filo pastry instead, which can be a good substitute. I'm afraid no one in Chester has yet to taste my amazing spring rolls as a result. Friends in Southsea are luckier! Here are the ingredients to make 30 spring rolls (the packs come in 30 or 40 pieces) 1 medium head of cabbage, thinly sliced 2 carrots, julienned 1 red or yellow pepper, julienned 1 medium onion, thinly sliced 1 medium courgette, julienned 1 tablespoon of Oyster sauce (omit if cooking for vegan) 2 tbsp soy sauce salt and pepper to taste 1 tbsp vegetable oil f...

Feature on Bubble&

Southsea has a monthly farmers market which I really love because Palmerston precinct where it's held becomes even more alive and buzzing. It is also a perfect opportunity to find some fresh or unusual local produce, that's not available in the local supermarkets. I also love meeting the vendors and chatting with them online, anticipating the next market. So I decided that I should really feature some of them on this page. Before the last market, I received a sweet tweet from @BubbleandMarita which prompted a conversation about bubble and squeaks, suitable toppings and the idea of this posting. So let me introduce you... Bubble& is a local street food phenomenon that has redefined bubble and squeak as we know it. They have created gourmet, gluten-free bubble and squeak cakes in a range of flavours that you can eat hot on their market stall with a soft poached egg, bacon and hollandaise sauce. They are so good, you may also want to take them home. So they have designe...

SouthseaScene

Search This Blog