Saturday, November 17, 2012

Hot and delicous: my take on dhal and lemon rice

I'm working hard to get the rant ready for publication. It's already delayed, but it will be out next week. I'm currently in the last stages of proofing. So watch this space for the announcement of its release. All that concentrating made me hungry. In addition to that, it's cold outside and I needed something to warm me from the inside.
Since I had some leftover butternut squash and green lentils are a staple in my kitchen, I decided to get creative. But I needed a bit more to add flavour and texture. So I bought some courgettes, potatoes and broccoli. And because I love the south Indian lemon rice so much, I wanted to give it another go. Last time went a bit pear shaped.

Okay, without ado, here's the recipe:
1/2 butternut squash
1 medium Courgette
1 carrot
1 medium potato
2 medium onions
1/2 broccoli
2 cups of soaked lentils
4 Cardamom seeds
Cumin seeds or ground cumin
Turmaric ground
Cloves (ground)
Mustard seeds tbs.
Coriander seeds or ground coriander
Curry Powder
Paprika
Garlic chopped
1 cm Ginger finely chopped or grated
Chillies (add to taste)
3 bay leaves
3 curry leaves
Salt
Stock

Cook rice. Any white rice. I used Basmati. While the rice is cooking, start the dhal.
Chop vegetables into 2cm dices, put aside. Heat wok or big pan with a bit of oil and pour half of all the seasoning, apart from the garlic. Stir for a minute, add garlic, then add the vegetables and cover with stock and let it simmer for about 20 minutes.

While this is simmering away, we can concentrate on the rice.
You need:
White rice
Green chilli (to taste)
3 cardamom seeds
Mustard seeds tbs.
Garlic finely chopped
Ginger (grated)
Tumaric tbs.
Salt
Lemon juice (to taste)
Lime leaves and curry leaves

Heat a pan with some oil and throw in the seasoning, bar the garlic. Stir for a minute, then add the garlic.
Add the lemon juice and stir again. Then add the rice and stir until everything is mixed together.Taste and see if you need more lemon juice.
Wonderful with warm naan and a dollop of yogurt.

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