Dry kale and coconut curry

I can't get enough coconut at the moment, and kale and beetroot have been very regular fixtures in our veg bag. So when I came across these recipes for beetroot and kale curries I was dead set on making them asap. Not least because they reminded me very much of the delicious coconutty food I'd eaten in Tamil Nadu and Kerala in southern India many moons ago.

I made the kale one first, and it is great. I was totally going to follow it with the beetroot one (I have  a guilty beetroot mountain in the fridge - much though I love the stuff I have not been getting through it quickly enough!) but the site was down when I looked on Friday... So I made this beetroot soup instead. Very much intending to do the beetroot one soon too though (yes, I do still have more beetroot in the fridge)!

½ cup / 45 g desiccated coconut
½ cup / 125 ml coconut water (didn't have - just used water)
4 cups / 130 g shredded kale
1 small red onion (used white), sliced
1 tsp ground cumin
¾ tsp fine sea salt, plus more for garnish
1 green chilli, if desired (used a bit of red), finely chopped
juice of ½ lime, plus extra for garnish

Mix desiccated coconut and coconut water in a small bowl and let soak for about 30 min. Prepare veg while you wait.

In a large pot over medium heat, add the onions, salt and cumin. Stir often, letting the onions soften in the pan. Add a couple tablespoons of the liquid from the soaking coconut if the pot becomes too dry (reserve as much liquid as you can, however). After about 8-10 min, add the kale and the coconut mixture. Stir to coat, and quickly cover the pot with a lid so that the kale steams inside. Wait just 30-60 sec (or a bit longer if your kale is tough) – the kale is ready when it is bright green and tender. Remove from heat and squeeze in the lime juice. Season to taste.

Note: I ended up with loads of liquid at the end. I evaporated it with the pan tilted to avoid overcooking the kale, but it's probably smart to avoid adding extra water as much as possible, and to make sure the kale is well dried after washing.

Yellow cauliflower and chickpeas

Yellow potatoes has been a favourite of ours for some time. It's a most speedy and excellent way to use pre-cooked potatoes - essentially dry-fried; spicy and delicious. For some reason it had never occurred to me to cook anything other than potatoes like that, but S steamed a lot of cauliflower the other day and a lightbulb came on. Wouldn't cauliflower be delicious this way too? While preparing the spice paste chickpeas also came to mind - I usually have a supply of pre-cooked chickpeas in the freezer, so it was easy to throw some in. It made for an excellent combination.

approx. 1 1/4 lb mixed steamed cauliflower and pre-cooked chickpeas
fresh ginger ~2 x 1 x 1in, peeled and coarsely chopped
3 cloves garlic, peeled
3 tbsp water
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp salt
1/2 tsp cayenne pepper
5 tbsp veg oil
1 tsp whole fennel seed (optional)

Chop cauliflower into approx 1 in chunks. Put ginger, garlic, water, turmeric, salt, cayenne in blender and blend to a paste.

Heat oil.  Add fennel seeds.  Sizzle for a few seconds, then add the paste.  Stir and fry for 2 min.

Add cauliflower and chickpeas (direct from freezer is OK).  Stir and fry for 5-7 min over a medium-high flame til they have a golden-brown crust.

Berbere lentils

I've made berbere lentils before, but at the weekend was browsing my precious weeks-old Guardian Weekend (that Y shepherded carefully over from Beccles for me), and found someone professing this berbere lentils recipe (that I had noticed then forgotten about previously) to be the best thing. And I had exactly the 250 g of red lentils it called for, so off we went.

2 medium onions, chopped
sesame oil (untoasted) or peanut oil, for frying
2–3 garlic cloves, chopped
250g red lentils
2 tbsp berbere spice mix (recipe below)
400g tin chopped tomatoes
400ml water
salt and black pepper

For berbere spice mix:
2 cloves
1 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp coriander seeds
1 tsp cayenne
2 tbsp paprika
2 tsp salt
1 tsp ground turmeric
½ tsp each of ground allspice, black pepper, ground cardamom, and ground nutmeg

To make the berbere, toast the cloves with the fenugreek, cumin and coriander. Grind and then mix with the cayenne, paprika, salt, black pepper, cardamom, nutmeg, turmeric and allspice.

Fry the onions. When softened, add the garlic, lentils and berbere. Mix, then add the tomatoes and water. Bring to the boil, turn down the heat and simmer for 30 minutes, adding more water if necessary.


Pretty good. Was a bit salty - I've reduced the salt a little above (as well as tweaking spice levels to my taste).Very similar to the recipe I tried before (except a bit saltier).

Ultimate gingery red lentil dal

They've had a red lentil dal on the menu at Grød all the time we've been here, and I keep ordering it even though I know it's really something I can make at home. Because it is pretty much the ultimate comfort food on a chilly day (it's starting to feel like Spring and sunny but it's still a bit chilly if we're honest).

I have been making versions of the Grød dal ever since we first went there. This time I think I nailed it. And I made crispy garlic butter flatbreads to go with it, which really took it over the edge.

(takes about half an hour from beginning to end)

Dal:
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
3 tbsp chopped fresh ginger
1 1/2 tbsp coriander seeds, crushed in a pestle and mortar
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp dried chilli flakes
1 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp cinnamon
2 cups red lentils
4 cups hot water
3 tbsp tomato puree
2 large carrots, peeled and chopped into half moons
2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander
juice of 1/3 lime
1 tsp honey
1-2 tsp salt
freshly ground black pepper

To serve:
yoghurt (or skyr, or ricotta)
more chopped fresh coriander
salty almonds (about 5 per bowl)

Cheat's garlic flatbreads:
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1-2 cm slice of butter
flatbread (7 chapati size pieces)

Heat the oil in a large lidded frying pan. Add the fresh ginger and saute for a couple of minutes. Add the dried spices and saute until fragrant. Add red lentils and mix around, then pour in hot water, add tomato puree, stir, cover and simmer for about 20 min. Peel and chop the carrots and add to the pan (they should need 10-15 min to become tender). Add about 1 tbsp of chopped coriander. Simmer until the lentils and carrots are tender.

Meanwhile, make the flatbreads. We had some thin Turkish flatbread that needed eating; I chopped it into 7 chapati size squares. Put the chopped garlic and cold butter into a small bowl and heat in the microwave for 15-20 sec, or however long it takes for the butter to become soft and scoopable but not liquid. Mix garlic and butter together. Heat a large heavy frying pan to a high heat, then put the first flatbread piece in it. Warm for a few min, until hot, then turn over. Put about a teaspoon of garlic-butter mixture on it and spread out. Transfer to a plate to keep warm. Repeat for the remaining flatbreads.

To finish off the dal, add the remaining 1 tbsp of coriander (remember to keep some for serving), lime juice, honey, salt and pepper. Taste and add more if necessary.

To serve, fill a bowl with dal, put some yoghurt on top and scatter with chopped fresh coriander and salty almonds. If necessary reheat the flatbreads in the microwave. Scoop dal up with flatbread or eat with a spoon.


Notes: the flatbreads were quite crispy - to make softer, perhaps it would be good to sprinkle them with water while warming the first side; I microwaved the garlic with the butter in the hope it would take the edge off the raw garlic taste and I don't know if it was that that did it but something worked and they were just garlicky enough.

Lazy vegetable and red lentil curry

Since we're subletting I haven't really felt like I settled in, foodwise, yet. The kitchen has most everything we need but not all, and I'm conscious of trying not to mess things up. And since we move again soon (to a different sublet) it feels like it would be silly to buy up lots of foodstuff. Not to mention that there is a whole lot of exciting food out there to buy / eat - baked goods especially are making us happy. And there's just a lot of adventuring / work etc to be done, so spending time doing anything very involved in the kitchen doesn't feel quite right. But then again, just eating pasta or salad all the time doesn't feel right either.

This has been my solution: simple curried vegetables, with red lentils to thicken and deepen. No weighing or measuring and minimal effort; but feels hearty and hygge (and yes not much different from that soup - just a few more spices, less varied vegetables and less liquidy).

(Note: partly inspired by our favourite food place discovery since getting here: Grød - all kinds of sweet and savoury porridge (including dal, barley-otto); perfect for a Danish winter and quite near work.)

~1 tbsp veg oil (or olive oil)
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
2 in piece ginger, peeled and chopped
1 onion, peeled and chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground paprika
1 tsp turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 tsp chilli powder
1/4 tsp cinnamon
few grinds black pepper
1 tsp curry powder
4 medium carrots, peeled and chopped
chunk of celeriac, peeled and diced
~1 cup red lentils
1 veg stock cube made up with 2 cups boiling water
smallish piece of broccoli, washed and separated into florets
~1 tbsp balsamic vinegar
~1 tsp salt
~2 tbsp chopped coriander
brown rice and skyr / yoghurt* to serve

Heat the oil in a medium lidded saucepan. Add the garlic, ginger and onion. Cover and cook until softened and slightly browned. Add the spices and mix / toast for a minute. Add the carrots and celeriac and mix. Add the lentils and stock and stir. Cover and simmer for ~15 min until the veg and lentils are nearly tender. Add the broccoli and simmer for ~5 more minutes. Check everything is done and add vinegar and salt to taste. To serve, mix through some of the coriander and scatter some more on top. We ate with brown rice and some skyr*.


This keeps well to become work lunches etc as well - perhaps even improves with a day in the fridge. Usually I would have added tinned tomatoes to something like this, but (a) I didn't have any, and (b) I found that red lentils+stock work well in their place to create a sauce as well as adding texture and earthy flavour.

*I have been having a bit of a break from veganism since getting here - it's tricky to figure out what is / isn't vegan when there's a language barrier. So I am making the best of it and eating lots of all my favourite non-vegan foods (mostly yoghurt; occasionally cheese / eggs / non-vegan baked goods) - no meat! Hence the skyr - I always loved how natural yoghurt goes with spicy curry and brown rice. But this is just fine without it too.

Aubergine, peanut and tamarind curry

One of our favourites round here is Yoma - a little Burmese place. I've never eaten Burmese food anywhere else so cannot speak for its authenticity, but we love the tastes - all the best bits of Thai, Vietnamese and Indian food, pretty much. Tea salad is a favourite, and their chickpea tofu, and the coconut-pumpkin-tofu curry. The okra is also good. And aubergine, peanut and tamarind curry.

We had an increasing mass of various aubergines (including cute little green ones called Kermit) from the CSA. I was going to make the classic aubergine curry, but then on the way home went right off the idea of following a recipe and decided instead to make something up involving aubergine, peanut and tamarind. This is that.

~3 medium aubergines (or equivalent amount of small ones), trimmed and cut into ~2 in wedges
olive oil
salt
1 green chilli, deseeded and finely chopped
2-3 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
2 in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 small onion (or ~5 spring onions), peeled and chopped
~2 tbsp tomato puree
~2 tbsp peanut butter
~1 tbsp tamarind paste
juice of 1/2 lime
salt
water
peanuts (optional)

Heat the oven to 400F. Prepare the aubergines and put into a roasting tin. Sprinkle with salt and olive oil and mix. Put in the oven and roast for ~ 30 min, until tender and lightly browned.

Meanwhile, heat 1-2 tbsp oil in a large saucepan and add the chilli, garlic, ginger and onions. Cover and saute until soft. Mix the tomato puree, peanut butter, tamarind and lime juice in a bowl with ~ 1/2 tsp salt and enough water to make a thick, creamy sauce. Add to the chilli-garlic mixture and saute for a minute.

When the aubergines are ready, take out of the oven and add to the pan. Mix it all together, taste and adjust for salt and acid. If you have peanuts, you could chop and dry-fry some, then sprinkle over.


Different from the Yoma one, but good nonetheless. Even better the next day when everything has mellowed together. Even cold.

One pot red lentil, coconut and greens dal

Making dal with coconut milk instead of water had been in the back of my mind for a while. Also adding stuff other than spices and aromatics. Someone recommended this recipe, thought I'd give it a try (with modifications).

This is a pretty good summer dal. Since it uses red lentils the cooking time is short (relative to other dal like chana), so less time spent over the stove. Coconut and greens also seem like summery additions.

2 tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1 red chilli, finely chopped (used ~1/2 tsp dried chilli flakes)
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1 cup (approx 250 g) red lentils
1 ~400 ml tin coconut milk made up to ~800 ml with water
~ 1/2 tsp salt
1 cup spinach or other tender greens (I used a mixture of the green parts of napa cabbage and butter lettuce)
1 small bunch of coriander, chopped

In a medium saucepan, heat the coconut oil, then add onion, garlic, ginger and chilli and fry gently til lightly browned. Add the mustard seeds and heat til they pop. Add the turmeric and garam masala and fry for a minute or so before adding the lentils. Add the coconut milk-water mixture to the pan, then cover and cook gently for 15-20 min, stirring occasionally. Add the salt and taste for seasoning. Finally, add the greens and coriander and cook for a few minutes more, until they are wilted but still bright green.


I really enjoyed the rich coconuttiness of this dal (makes it a bit richer than most dal, but totally delicious). Also the greens. This is a different cooking method to my usual dal - adding everything to one pot rather than frying the onions and spices separately and adding them last. Think it is fine, and obviously saves washing up etc, although perhaps uniquely possible for small, quick-cooking dal like the red lentils.

Massaman curry (from tinned paste)

Sascha bought this little tin of curry paste when he stayed with us (and S demanded he make us dinner when we got home from work / before going to basketball). The remainder of the tin had been in the fridge ever since - I wasn't sure how long it'd last but guessed it needed using up before too much longer. Last night I got home before S and decided it was time for curry. I filled it with a pretty random selection of stuff from the corners of fridge, freezer and cupboards. Which actually worked out really well.

The paste is good, and tinning means it has no unidentifiable ingredients. In case I want to try and recreate it / find it again, it is labelled Massaman curry paste, and the ingredients list is: garlic, sugar, soybean oil, dried red chillies, tamarind juice, shallot, salt, lemongrass, spices (coriander seeds, cumin, cardamom, cinnamon, bay leaves, lesser galanga, cloves), kaffir lime, galangal, citric acid (E330).

1/2 tin Massaman curry paste (see above)
1 tin coconut milk
1/4 butternut squash, deseeded and chopped into ~2 cm chunks
2 medium potatoes, washed and chopped into ~1 cm chunks
~1/4 cup okara (optional - chucked it in because it needed eating)
~1/2 cup frozen chickpeas
1/2 block super firm tofu
~1/2 cup frozen peas
~2 tbsp crushed toasted peanuts
~2 tbsp chopped coriander

Heat a deep frying pan with a lid. Put the curry paste and half the coconut milk in and stir-fry for ~ 3 min. Add the potato and squash. Cover and simmer for ~15-20 min, until the potato is almost cooked, adding the okara after about 5 min if using. Add the chickpeas and tofu and heat for another 5 min or so, then add the frozen peas and heat for 2-3 min, until they are cooked. Take off the heat and stir in the toasted peanuts. Serve with rice, and with coriander sprinkled on top.

Dry beetroot coconut curry

I was thinking about India. Probably the best meal I had in ~3 months there was a thali at a place overlooking a temple bathing tank, in Varkala (Kerala). All the places along the beach were very touristy and the food not very veg and not very interesting, so we had ended up walking inland in search of something more exciting. The place was small and simple; we sat on a palm-roofed terrace watching a family of feral cats play around our feet. Eventually they brought this amazing thali, with very coconutty, South Indian, interesting curries. The one I remember so clearly was a dry curry of shredded beetroot and shredded coconut - beautiful, full of earthy sweetness and texture, and so unlike anything I'd eaten before.

I thought I'd try and recreate it with our latest haul of CSA beetroot. The fridge was starting to look bare after a few weeks of soup and using up, and those beets were almost the last thing to get through. Actually, I think what reminded me of that place / that thali was making my favourite dry cabbage curry the other day - it is similar in spicing and texture and use of coconut to what I remember of the beetroot one. So I thought I'd try something a bit like it - definitely using shredded coconut, curry leaves and mustard seed... I ended up using this recipe, as it sounded much like my memory.

1 inch piece of ginger, peeled and roughly chopped into large chunks
3 cloves of garlic, peeled
~1/2 tbsp water
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
3 curry leaves
1 tsp chana dal (aka yellow split peas; increase to 1 tbsp if you don't have urad dal)
1 tbsp urad dal (subbed mung beans but this wasn't awesome - make sure to use shelled dal)
1 tsp brown mustard seeds
1-2 tsp red chilli flakes
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, finely sliced
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 medium-large beetroot, grated
~1/3 cup dried shredded coconut (unsweetened; fresh probably better if you can get it)
salt

Put the ginger, garlic and water in a blender and pulse until it becomes a paste - add just enough water to make it work / become paste.

Heat the oil in a good-sized frying pan. Add the curry leaves, chana dal, urad dal (if using), mustard seeds, cumin seeds and chilli flakes and stir-fry until fragrant. Add the onion and the garlic-ginger paste. Once the onion is translucent, add in the turmeric and the grated beetroot. Stir-fry until beets are almost dry then add in the coconut and mix. Taste and add salt to taste. Turn off the heat.


We ate with brown rice, sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander, with a splash of vinegar and some coconut cream on the side. yummmm. S thought it could have been more coconutty - I guess you could add more shredded coconut or some coconut cream - but I was pretty happy with it.

Note, I am actually growing to love turmeric - I'd always thought of it as mainly a colouring agent, but while the colour is definitely fantastic the smell and flavour are wonderful too.

Curried parsnip soup

This is a Delia duvet for a cold, snowy day.

1 tbsp olive oil
1 tbsp refined coconut oil
2 onions, peeled and chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
1 heaped tsp coriander seeds
1 heaped tsp cumin seeds
6 whole cardamom pods (seeds only)
1 heaped tsp turmeric
1 heaped tsp ground ginger
1½ lb / 700 g young parsnips, peeled, and chopped into ~1 inch dice
2 pints / 1.2 l  / ~ 5 cups veg stock
salt and pepper
1 small apple

For the parsnip crisps:
1 medium to large parsnip
4-6 tbsp high heat cooking oil (used safflower)
salt

Heat the oils in a large saucepan and add the onions, cooking gently for a few min before adding the garlic and cooking a bit longer til softened. Meanwhile heat a small frying pan and dry fry the cumin, coriander and cardamom until fragrant. Tip into a mortar and grind. Add to the onions, along with the turmeric and ground ginger. Mix and cook a little longer, until fragrant. Add the parsnips and stir well, then add to the stock and bring to a gentle simmer. Simmer at as low heat as possible, uncovered, for approx 1 hour. When the hour is up, liquidise the soup, taste for seasoning, then peel and grate in the apple.

While the soup is simmering, make the parsnip crisps. Heat the oil in a frying pan until very hot (smoking). Lay the parsnip slices in and fry in batches until golden brown. Remove to a paper-lined plate, sprinkle with salt and let cool.


Notes: I quite like the idea of mixing turnip and parsnips instead of using just parsnips, as well. I am quite amazed: the apple I used for this was one of three I had left from last year's apple harvests.

Parsnip and peanut curry

I love parsnips, but in all honesty I have stuck to relatively few ways of cooking them: mostly pureed (in soup or mash) or roasted (both are recommended, and delicious). Neither of those methods makes something that is as good cold the next day. The best thing for eating cold (or reheated) the next day is curry: the longer it sits, the more the flavours play together and the more interesting they become. I have roasted and souped parsnip with curry spices before, why not make a parsnip curry? S and I were talking about making curries with spice pastes recently, thought I would try something in that style. And really liked the idea of peanuts with parsnips for some reason (possibly partly alliterative).

My littlest sister has been in India these last few weeks, I think that might have inspired this longing series of curried veg. She's in Thailand now, perhaps Thai curry experiments will follow?

(makes quite a huge pot - prob serves 4-6)
(based on this recipe)

5 cloves garlic
2 inch piece of ginger
1 small onion
1 green chilli
75ml water + 325ml water
1/2 cup peanuts
2 tsp coriander seed
1 tsp cumin seed
2 tbsp safflower, canola or peanut oil
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne
1/2 a tin of tomatoes
2 lb parsnips
2 cups chickpeas
1-2 tsp tamarind paste
1-2 tsp salt
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Put the garlic, ginger, onion and chilli in a blender with 75ml water and blend to a paste. Grind the coriander seed and half the cumin seed. Toast the peanuts in a dry frying pan and then grind them coarsely, so there are still plenty of chunks left (or chop them).

Heat the oil in a tall saucepan. When hot, add the whole cumin seeds and toast for ~30sec, until fragrant. Add the ground spices and peanuts and stir and fry for a couple of minutes. Add the garlic-ginger paste and cook for a few minutes more, until it starts to thicken. Add the tomatoes, the rest of the water, the parsnips and the chickpeas, cover and simmer for 20-30 min, until the parsnips are tender. Add salt and tamarind, taste and add more if needed. Eat sprinkled with chopped fresh coriander, with brown rice.


This was an excellent pre / post midnight bike marathon snack. The parsnips are sweet: I know they are a love or hate thing but I am firmly in the 'love' camp, and I think they work excellently with the earthy / toasty / robust chickpeas, peanuts and curry spices. It was a treat to have such a big pile of parsnips (thanks A!).

Chickpeas with amchoor

I bought a bag of amchoor (powdered green mango) yesterday. It had been on my mental shopping list for a while, and although it was a rather big bag, when I found it I couldn't resist. So here is something with amchoor (which seems to be something fit for a similar kind of role to tamarind: sweet / sour flavour depths) - basically this recipe.

4 cups cooked chickpeas (+ keep 1 cup cooking liquid)
2 tbsp oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2-3 cardamom pods, crushed
1 cinnamon stick, broken in half
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tbsp amchoor
1 tbsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cayenne
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 chopped tomatoes or 2 heaped tsp tomato puree plus 1 tsp red wine vinegar and 1/2 cup water
1/4 cup chopped fresh coriander
1 1/2 tsp salt

Heat the oil over medium heat in a medium-large saucepan. When hot, add the cumin, cardamom and cinnamon, and cook for 1 min. Add the ground spices, stir, and pour in the tomatoes / tomato puree plus 1/2 cup water. Cook, uncovered, stirring often, until for 5-10 min or until the tomatoes are reduced. Add the chickpeas, cooking liquid (or sub water if you don't have), and half the chopped coriander. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for 20 min or until the sauce has thickened. Remove from heat and add salt, and vinegar if it needs it. Serve with the remaining coriander.

Curried cabbage and coconut

Got a big white cabbage that needed eating fast from last week's Alvin farmshare. Turned over a few ideas in my head: perhaps Polish style stuffed leaves (had been talking about these with my labmate who made them with his Polish-descended mother recently)? Or pickled? But then the idea of a dry, yellow curry with coconut came into my head and seemed so delicious I couldn't drop it.

I more-or-less followed this recipe, because it seemed to be quite straightforward and almost exactly what I had in mind - even including curry leaves, which I bought a bag of a month or so ago and had been storing in the freezer until an opportunity to cook them arose.

3 tbsp safflower oil (or other non-flavoured, high temp cooking oil)
1/4 tsp brown mustard seeds
1/4 tsp cumin seeds
1 heaping tsp mung dal, urad dal or small yellow lentils
1-2 small green chillies, seeds removed, finely chopped
10-20 fresh curry leaves (used 11)
1 small onion, finely sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 a medium white cabbage (approx 1 lb), cored and shredded
1 piece fresh ginger, 1-inch long, peeled and chopped or cut into matchsticks
1/2 tsp salt
4 tbsp finely grated fresh coconut or grated dried coconut

Heat the oil in a large, tall saucepan over med-high heat. When it’s hot and shimmery add the mustard seeds. When they have almost all popped (30 sec or so), remove the pan from the heat, then turn down to medium, put pan back on, add cumin, dal, chilli, curry leaves, and saute until everything looks lightly golden (~ 45 sec). Add the onion and cook, stirring, until it’s soft and limp but does not change colour: two to four minutes. Add the turmeric and stir well to mix. Add the cabbage, ginger and salt, and mix thoroughly. Reduce the heat to low and cover the pan. Cook gently, stirring occasionally, until cooked through, slightly translucent, tender, still crunchy but not mushy: about seven minutes. Add the coconut, and mix well. Taste for salt. Let sit for at least 5 min before eating.


This is really delicious, and makes a beautiful pan of yellow shreds studded with brown seeds and dal. The curry leaves lend a very particular aroma and flavour which I like, and the combined dal, cooked cabbage and coconut make a wonderful set of contrasting textures. Yum.

Whole okra with tomato and spices

We ate okra and tofu curry from Yoma last Friday, then bought okra from the Haymarket on Saturday. I think these facts were connected (the curry was good). Last time we bought okra I forgot about it until it was too late, this time I did not let that happen. My usual way with okra is to slice it finely and saute with chopped onion and garlic, mustard seed and other whole spices. This time I wanted it whole and tomato-y, still curry-ish but not the same as the Yoma one. Simple and warming. This is a long list of ingredients but most of them sum up to curry powder.

(total cooking time approx 30 min - make sure to get the rice on first and chop veg in order as you cook)

1 tbsp veg oil
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
2 in piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp yellow mustard seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
1 clove
1/4 tsp red chilli flakes
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp paprika
1 400g tin tomatoes
3 tbsp water
1 tbsp tomato puree
1 tsp light soy sauce
slug of (vinegary) red wine
1 bay leaf
3/4 tsp salt
black pepper
~30 medium sized whole okra, washed and stems trimmed but otherwise left uncut
1-2 tbsp chopped fresh coriander

Heat oil in a large saucepan. Add onion, cover and cook for a few minutes. Add ginger and garlic and soften a few minutes more. Meanwhile, make the spice mix: grind the clove, chilli flakes and seeds together and mix with the ground spices. When the onion, garlic and ginger are softened uncover and add the spice mix to the saucepan. Stir and fry a couple of minutes more, until the spices are fragrant. Then add the tomatoes, water, puree, soy sauce, wine, bay leaf, and some salt and pepper and bring to a simmer. Lastly, add the whole okra. Cover and simmer for ~15 min, stirring occasionally (careful not to break the okra), until the okra are soft and well cooked. Taste for seasoning and stir in the fresh coriander. We ate this with raw red rice cooked with cumin seeds and a cinnamon stick and tossed with 2 tsp coconut oil when done.


This came out exactly as I hoped, and was ready just as S walked in the door. We also had salad with papaya seed dressing (similar to this one).

Thai green curry with plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower

I have been ferreting through the freezer, trying to figure out why it is so full and disorganised (probably a clue is its bad design... at least, S pointed out, it being really full means it is more energy efficient!), and what treasures might be lurking at the back...

Among other things, I discovered galangal, lemongrass, and half a bag of frozen peas. And, possibly due to an exciting visit to Jitlada Thai in Hollywood, wondered if maybe I should make a Thai curry?

This recipe looked like the business. Amazingly, I actually had most of the key ingredients for the paste (or reasonable substitutions). I didn't have any of the recommended veg to go in it, but decided to freestyle with what I had - no way was I going out to buy food last night - it hit -12C and my fingers froze on the bike ride home in spite of double, super thick gloves.

Green Curry Paste:
1 stalk fresh lemongrass, sliced finely and minced OR 3 tbsp frozen or bottled lemongrass
2 tsp ground coriander
1/2 tsp ground cumin
2+1/2 tbsp soy sauce, OR equal parts Thai Golden Mountain Sauce and soy sauce, leave out the dark soy
1-2 tsp brown sugar (to taste)
1-3 green chillies, minced (to taste) (used 1-2 tsp dried red chilli as we didn't have any green)
1 small onion
3 cloves garlic
1 thumb-size piece galangal OR ginger, peeled and sliced
2 kaffir lime leaves (fresh or frozen), snipped into thin strips with scissors, OR substitute 1 tbsp fresh lime juice
1 loose cup chopped fresh coriander leaves and stems
1/4 cup fresh basil
1 tsp dark soy sauce, OR substitute 1 more tbsp regular soy sauce

Other:
2 kaffir lime leaves, OR substitute 1 bay leaf
1 tin coconut milk
1 1/2 cup cooked chickpeas OR 1 1/2 cup firm tofu drained and chopped into cubes OR a combination
1 black plantain, peeled and chopped into chunks
~3 medium carrots peeled and sliced
~10 mushrooms, roughly chopped into quarters
~1 cup of cauliflower chunks about an inch diameter
3/4 cup frozen peas
1/2 cup fresh basil, roughly chopped (optional)
2-3 tbsp oil for frying

To make the green curry paste, place all paste ingredients in a blender. Add a few tbsp of the coconut milk, enough to blend ingredients. Process well.

Place oil in deep frying pan. Turn heat on medium-high and add paste. Stir-fry until fragrant (about 1 minute), then add the coconut milk. Add tofu and / or chickpeas and stir to combine.

Add lime leaves (used bay) and reduce heat to medium-low. Cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes.

Add plantain and carrots. (Note: if more sauce is desired, add up to 1 cup vegetable stock.) Cover and simmer another 5 min, then add the cauliflower. Simmer for 3-5 min more, until carrots are soft enough to pierce with a fork.

Finally, add mushrooms and frozen peas. Stir and continue cooking for 2-3 minutes, or until peas are cooked but still bright green.

Do a taste test for salt and spice, and add more soy sauce, salt, lime juice or coconut milk accordingly.

Vegetables: The recommended combo was 1 cubed sweet potato (added when I did the plantain and carrot), 1 red pepper, chunked and a cup of sugarsnap peas (both added when I did the mushrooms) - alternative recommendations were: broccoli, cauliflower, asparagus, spinach, french beans, aubergine, squash, and courgette.


All in all this was really successful: the curry paste worked out well and tasted good and quite authentic. The colour of the curry paste was a bit off (kind of greenish, but also brownish): wondered if I might have skimped a little on the coriander by measuring it before chopping - another time measure after chopping and will probably end up with more. The basil was the tired stuff off our windowsill - fresh holy basil would probably have been much better (and greener).

The plantain, chickpeas and cauliflower all tasted great in this format - was especially pleased with the plantain and chickpeas together. However, they are all brownish and so are the mushrooms and tofu, so that didn't help with the colour issues! So, another time it would be cool to try and get hold of some kaffir lime leaves and holy basil, and some more colourful veg, but I was really impressed with this recipe as a quick, storecupboard-based weeknight supper.

It probably took about an hour in total - could have sped this up by cutting the carrot thinner, and also by prepping the cauli / mushrooms / peas while the pot is on (I was tired and thought it best to prep everything at the beginning to avoid getting confused / stressed). We ate it with simple coconut basmati rice (toss through a few tsp of coconut oil when the rice is cooked and steaming).

Edit: I made this again (after another freezer-clearance effort): this time used holy basil and lime leaves, and green chillies, and made sure my herbs were well-packed. And the paste came out deep green and wonderfully aromatic - I could eat it on its own. I used only one chilli - perhaps use more next time, it wasn't very spicy. For content, I used chickpeas, carrot, tempeh, baby turnips (roots and greens), courgette, peas, radish greens... turns out this is a good way to use random things up / most of the necessary items can be stored in the freezer or pantry indefinitely - only really need the fresh holy basil and coriander.

Halloween pumpkin: from owl to curry (with banana)

I can never bring myself to choose between carving a pumpkin and eating it. Thus, last night after I biked home a long way round to pass through the trick or treating heaven (hell?) that is Brook St (featuring skeleton ship's captain at the wheel and circling red-eyed bats), in a fit of Halloween slasherdom, I butchered the owl I carved out of a tiny pumpkin last week at Mariah's, and it became curry.

The recipe I noted down from Meghan's pumpkin recipe book, which she brought in to inspire us ahead of our pumpkin-themed happy hour.

3 tbsp veg oil
1 small onion, sliced
2 garlic cloves, chopped
2 tsp grated ginger
1 tsp ground coriander seed
1/2 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
1 small pumpkin (1 1/4 lb), seeds, peel and guts removed, cut into cubes
1 400g tin chopped tomatoes
2 dried red chillies
1 1/4 cups veg stock
1 3/4 cups cooked chickpeas
1 large, underripe banana
1 tbsp fresh coriander, chopped
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp sugar
1 tsp tamarind paste

Heat 2 tbsp oil, add the onion, garlic and ginger and fry for ~5 min, until the onion is browned. Add the ground spices and stir-fry for a minute or two more, until fragrant. Add tomatoes, chillies and stock to the pan and simmer for 15 min.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 tbsp oil in a frying pan, add the cubed pumpkin and fry for 5 min, until lightly browned. Add the pumpkin to the tomato mixture with the chickpeas, cover and cook for 20 min.

Peel the banana, slice thickly and stir in to the pan 5 min before the end. Lastly, add salt, sugar and tamarind, taste for seasoning and add the fresh coriander before serving.


I followed the recipe loosely: I figured it was that kind of recipe.  I wasn't sure what type the pumpkin was, but in curry the taste of the pumpkin is not all that important so I figured it would be fine either way.  It came out very pretty and equally tasty: a good balance of sweet/spicy/savoury/hot.  It was slightly fierier than I intended, due to my new jar of 'red pepper flakes' in fact being chilli pepper, but it was just about on the good side still.  We ate it with cumin rice.  And E Nesbit's ghost stories on Radio 4.

Latest yellow split pea dal

Pretty much based on this recipe: trying to perfect my method.

1 cup yellow split peas
3 cups water
1 tbsp coconut oil (or olive)
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, finely chopped
1/4 tsp fennel seed
1/4 tsp nigella seed
1/4 tsp mustard seed
1/4 tsp cumin seed
seeds from 4 cardamom pods
1/2 tsp turmeric
3/4 tsp salt

Put the split peas and water in a medium saucepan, cover and simmer for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan and add the ginger, garlic and whole spices. Cook for a few minutes, until spices are aromatic and garlic light gold, then add the turmeric and cook for a few more seconds. Stir the peas and check they are soft and collapsing. When they are, Add the spice mixture to the peas, along with the salt, and stir. Eat with rice or with flatbreads.


This is really warming and good. I've worked through a few iterations and like this one best (with optional fried onion addition). Must be patient and make sure the peas are fully cooked - the softer the better, really.

Lentil curry with beetroot raita

This was what I felt like making when I got home through the rain.  I wasn't going to bother with the raita but then S wasn't home yet and I was waiting for things to cook and I thought yeah, why not.

250g large brown lentils
60g fresh ginger or galangal (used galangal), peeled and roughly chopped
4 cloves garlic, peeled
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
3 tsp garam masala
2 small red chillies
1 tsp ground turmeric
2 tbsp veg oil
1 medium onion, finely sliced
400g can chopped tinned tomatoes

For the raita:
200g soft silken tofu
4 tbsp beetroot, coarsely grated
coriander, chopped
juice of 1/4 lime

Bring the lentils to the boil in a pan of deep, unsalted water, then let them simmer for 20-25 minutes, until they are quite soft.

Put the galangal into the blender with the garlic, cumin seeds, ground coriander, garam masala, red chillies, ground turmeric and enough water to make a soft, but not runny, paste.

Peel and finely slice the onion.  Warm a tbsp or two of oil in a medium saucepan over a moderate heat.  Add the onion and let it colour, stirring occasionally.  Then add the paste and stir / cook til fragrant.  Then add the tinned tomatoes and a can of water, salt, and the drained, cooked lentils and leave to simmer for half an hour or so. The lentils should be soft but still retaining a little of their texture; the sauce thick.

To make the raita, blend the tofu until smooth and put in a small bowl with the other ingredients and gently fold the beetroot through the smooth tofu with a fork (don't over mix).


We ate it with brown rice, and it was good.  Homely and comforting and exciting all at once.  Glad to use some galangal at last.  And the tofu-beetroot raita turned out way better than I expected.

White-coloured food (cauliflower curry + rice)

We're quite into cauliflower at the moment (among other brassicas).  After Seb's triumphant cauliflower with breadcrumbs we bought another one.  Last night I got around to cooking it.  Had another bash at a cauliflower curry - the one I tried before wasn't quite what I was looking for, so I did some Googling and adaptation and ended up with this:

Dry cauliflower curry

1 cauliflower, broken into florets
salt

1 1/2 tbsp unsweetened desiccated coconut
2 tsp fennel seed
1 tsp cumin seed
(grind the three above ingredients together)

2 tsp veg oil
1 onion, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 in piece ginger, finely chopped
1 small mild green chili, finely chopped
2 cloves
1 inch cinnamon stick

1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tomato, chopped
1/2-1 tsp chili powder
2 tbsp coriander, chopped

Put the cauliflower in a bowl and cover with salted, boiling water.  Leave for ~ 5min.  Drain, then add the ground cumin / fennel / coconut and mix.

Meanwhile heat the oil in a medium frying pan and add the onion, cumin seeds, garlic, ginger, green chili, cinnamon stick and cloves.  Cook gently until the onion is translucent.  Add the tomato and cook until it is collapsing.  Add the cauliflower, chili powder and salt to taste and cook until the cauliflower is as soft as you like (~30 min) - cover if necessary.

Finally, add the coriander, mix up and serve with basmati rice.


This didn't come out quite how I expected (I think I have this vision of slightly crispy, browned and well-cooked cauliflower that is dry and tasty), but it was very good.  The ingredients reduce to give a fairly dry, sweetish, brown mixture surrounding succulent bits of cauliflower - not far off - way better than my last cauliflower curry effort.  Liked the subtle coconut and sweetness.

Moong Dal

I am in the mood for dal at the moment - it's the weather - it is becoming autumn, leaves are falling and it's getting chillier at night.  So warm, comforting, spicy bowls of slop are what I feel like cooking and eating.  Also, an hour or 2 of minimal-fuss cooking makes a pot of spicy legume to last a week.

I've been making quite a lot of red lentil and chana dal based ones recently, so fancied a (slight) change and remembered the packet of split, peeled mung beans S bought by accident from the Chinese supermarket (he had a list, it said mung beans - I meant for sprouting but he bought these ones).

I stumbled across this recipe and thought it would be a good place to start - seemed simple enough, and was a slightly different approach to the other dals I have been making (adding fried onions and whole spices at the end).

400g mung dal (skinned yellow split mung beans)
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1 in piece of root ginger, peeled and cut into 4
1 tsp turmeric
3 chillies, 2 finely chopped, 1 left whole
2 tbsp veg oil
1 small onion, finely sliced
1/2 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tsp mustard seeds
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
Fresh coriander, chopped

Wash the mung, put in a pan and add 2 litres of cold water. Bring to the boil and skim. Add the garlic, ginger, turmeric and chopped chillies to the pan with a pinch of salt, turn down the heat, cover, leaving the lid slightly ajar, and simmer for 1-1½ hours, stirring occasionally, until smooth and soft.

Add salt to taste (approx 1 tsp), then add the whole chilli and simmer for 15 minutes.

Meanwhile, heat the oil in a frying pan over a medium high heat and add the onion. Stir until golden and beginning to crisp, then add the dried spices and cook for a couple of minutes until the mustard seeds are beginning to pop. Stir into the dal. Finally, add some chopped coriander and serve.


Nice and warm and yellow. I've reduced the cumin as it was a bit much. It is missing something - fenugreek?

Note - I accidentally-on-purpose tried this same recipe using yellow split peas (chana dal) instead of mung, and it was better i think - their rich butteriness gives depth that the mung lacked.  Although I may also have added more salt and did a better job of cooking the onions (til almost burnt and crispy but not quite).  Although the cooking time was longer - was over 2 hours not 1.5 hours.