Dhal

I love Dhal – thick, gently spiced, cheap as chips  and very filling. You could add cooked diced chicken or lamb to it and some stock to loosen it more, which would give it more of a Dhansak curry feel. Also nice!

Serves 2-3

150g dried split yellow peas
500-750ml water
Salt and black pepper
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1 tbsp mustard seeds

1 tsp nigella seeds (black onion seeds)
½ tbsp cumin seeds
A pinch of ground turmeric
10 curry leaves
1 onion, sliced
1-2 large green chillies, sliced (deseed if you don’t like too much heat)
2 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp garam masala
3 tomatoes, chopped

Juice of ½ a lemon
Fresh coriander, chopped

2 shallots, sliced into rings (optional)

Naan or tortillas, warmed, to serve

1 Wash and drain the split peas in a sieve and place in a saucepan. Pour 500ml of water over, boil for 10 mins, then reduce the heat and simmer for about 35 minutes, or until the peas are very soft. You may need to add the extra 250 ml water if it evaporates too fast. Season.

2 Heat the oil in a frying pan. Add the spices and curry leaves and fry over a medium heat until the mustard seeds start to pop.

3 Add the onion, chillies and garlic and stir well. Cook for another 3 minutes, then add the garam masala.

4 Mix well, and then tip into the cooked dhal with the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer and cook for a further 2-3 minutes, adding more water if the mixture becomes too thick.

5 Add the lemon juice and coriander. (If you like fry the shallot in a little oil and garam masala until crisp and tip over the dhal)  Serve with warm flatbreads for scooping.

Keema Matar (lamb mince and pea curry)

Keema Matar

Serves 4-6 depending on how much bread or other accompaniments you serve

This is one of my favourite weekend recipes to make as although it is a little time consuming, it is really easy and the results are worth it. I find I usually have most of the ingredients – maybe just have to go out and get some fresh coriander, chilli and the mince. The results are deeply satisfying, rich, savoury, sweet from cinnamon and warm from the chilli. Eat with naan bread. I forgot to add the coriander for the photo - looks much better with it sprinked over!

2 tbsp oil

Half a cinnamon stick

2 cloves

2 cardamom pods, bruised

3 peppercorns

2 onions, chopped

500g Lean minced lamb

1 tsp curry powder

1 tbsp ground coriander (I like to grind my own)

½ tsp ground cumin (again, I grind mine)

¼ tsp chilli powder/cayenne

¼ tsp turmeric

1 tbsp. coriander stems, finely chopped

1 fresh red chilli, split but not all the way in half

½ tsp garlic paste

1 tsp ginger paste

Salt

½ tsp paprika

400g can chopped tomatoes

1 medium potato, peeled and cut into 2cm dice

150g frozen peas

¼ tsp garam masala

Chopped coriander leaves to garnish

Heat the oil in a wok (with a lid) and add the cinnamon, cloves, cardamom, peppercorns and onions.  Cook on a low heat until turning golden brown, but don’t let it burn. Turn up the heat and add the lamb, curry powder, ground coriander and cumin, chilli powder and turmeric. Stir well and break up all lumps. Stir fry until the lamb is brown – if a lot of fat is release try to drain a bit off, but not all of it.

Add the coriander stems, red chilli, garlic and ginger pastes, paprika and season with about 1 tsp salt. Stir fry on medium-low heat for about 5 minutes to cook out the pastes and spices. Then tip in the tomatoes and about half a can of water. Cover with a lid and cook on a low heat for about 5 minutes.

Add the potatoes, pushing them down into the curry and add a bit more water just to cover if necessary. Pop the lid back on and cover gently for anything from 20-40 minutes until the potatoes are tender. Add the peas and heat through for a couple of minutes. Turn heat off, sprinkle with garam masala and chopped coriander and serve. 

Chicken jalfrezi

Chicken Jalfrezi

Serves 2

This is another great leftovers kind of a dish. You can add extra veggies in such as courgette, beans, spring onions etc or use turkey, pork or lamb. It is a fairly dry, stir fried curry that can be made in 10 mins! Serve with either rice or naan. I once ate some leftover jalfrezi in a wrap at work the next day and stunk out the whole office – whoops!

1 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, sliced

¼ green pepper, sliced

¼ red pepper, sliced

1 chicken breast (or cooked leftovers), diced

1 green chilli, chopped (deseed if you don’t like too much heat)

½ tsp garlic paste or 1 chopped clove

1 tsp ginger paste (or 1 knob finely grated root ginger)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp turmeric

1-2 tsp curry powder

1 squeeze tomato puree

Half a can of chopped plum tomatoes (save rest for a pasta sauce)

To finish:

A shake of garam masala (optional)

Fresh coriander, chopped (optional)

Heat the oil in a large frying pan or a wok and fry the onion and red peppers until softened but not brown. Add the chicken and continue to stir fry for 3-4 minutes. Next add the chilli, garlic, ginger and spices and mix well so everything is coated for 1 minute. Then squeeze in about a teaspoon of tomato puree and half a can of chopped tomatoes. Keep cooking for a few more minutes until the sauce is thick and reduced. You may need to slacken with some water to get the consistency you like, but it is meant to be quite dry.  Sprinkle with garam masala and coriander and eat asap!