Lentil Curry

sooty&sweep

Hi

Can anyone recommend any lentil curry recipes ?

I decided that we should eat more vegetarian food so bought a selection of lentils but to be honest I'm not sure what to with them.

I''ve got brown lentils, urid dal, channa dal & orange lentils.

I''ve tried looking in recipe books but all the recipes I like use different types of lentils.
How interchangeable are different types of lentils ?

Any advice or suggestions appreciated !

Thanks

Jen

TattyG

This is the one I use !! The kids love it and it is easy enough for my 9 year old to make herself x

http://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/1306/easy-peasy-lentil-curry

Steve059

A friend of Diogenes, the ancient Greek philosopher, visited him and found him eating a meal of lentils. The friend was a courtier in the court of the king. He said to Diogenes, "If you would learn to flatter the king, you would not have to eat lentils." Diogenes replied, "And if you would learn to eat lentils, you would not have to flatter the king."

DAL

Serves 2

INGREDIENTS

1 clove of garlic
2cm (1 inch) piece of fresh ginger
1 onion
250g of split red lentils
½ a teaspoon of turmeric
500ml of water
1 tablespoon of oil
1 teaspoon of chilli powder
1 tablespoon of garam masala

METHOD

Soak the lentils according to the instructions on the packet. Peel the garlic and chop it into tiny pieces. Peel the ginger and chop it into tiny pieces. Peel the onion and chop it into tiny pieces.

Put the lentils, turmeric and water into a saucepan on a medium heat. Bring to the boil, then turn down the heat until it is just boiling (simmering). Stir frequently to stop it sticking. Continue to cook for another 30 minutes until the lentils are a smooth paste. Check the liquid level from time to time and top up if it starts to dry out.

While the lentils are cooking, put the oil into a frying pan on a medium heat. Add the chilli powder and garam masala. Fry for just a few seconds. Add the onions. Fry them for 10 minutes until the onions are caramelised and dark brown. Stir frequently to stop them sticking. Then add the garlic and ginger. Continue to fry for another 5 minutes. Stir frequently to stop them sticking.

Serve the lentils in a bowl, and then add the contents of the frying pan, including the oil, in a puddle on top.

ADDITIONS & ALTERATIONS

You can use any bean, pea or pulse. In India, they evidently have over 500 to choose from.

Use dried beans peas, but these will need to be soaked and boiled first.

Black-eyed beans/peas = Lobhia Dal
Chickpeas/garbanzo beans = Chana Dal
Kidney beans = Rajma Dal
Red split lentils = Masoor Dal
Mung beans = Mung Dal
Yellow split lentils = Toor Dal

Yellow split peas are not commonly used in India, but they are by the Indian communities in Guyana and Trinidad, where the dish is just called dal.

Tadka (or baghar, chaunk or tarka) is the mix of fried spices and onion, etc. The ingredients in the tadka for each type of dal vary, but common tadka combinations include chilli powder, cumin and onion, or garlic and mustard seeds. Ground coriander and garam masala are also common ingredients.

Serve on its own with rice and naan bread or as a side dish with other Indian dishes.

TIPS

Lentils are a good source of protein for a balanced diet without meat.

Seakay

I highly recommend The Bean Book by Rose Elliot. It has precise soaking and cooking times for dried beans, and sugestions for substitutions as well as lots of recipes - I particularly like the continental lentil and walnut loaf which also makes good burgers. Try and borrow it from your local library to see if you like it. To buy I've seen it on Ebay
http://compare.ebay.co.uk/like/400428741692?var=lv&ltyp=AllFixedPriceItemTypes&var=sbar&adtype=pla&crdt=0

and also Amazon
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Bean-Book-Essential-Vegetarian-Collection/dp/0722539479/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364649711&sr=1-1

Madhur Jaffrey has quite easy to follow recipes from the Indian sub continent, again have a look at some librry books to see if you like her style.

If you are a member of your library then most counties have a system whereby you can check for books online, order them for collection at the branch of your choice, and also make suggestions for books to be bought if no copy is availble anywhere in the system. Check for libraries on your local council's Yougov site; ordering online is easy and in this cold weather means you only have to make one journey to collect. If there is no queue for the book then you should get it in a few days.

Many pulses are interchangeable, you just have to be aware of different soaking and initial cooking times.

Generally, best to soak overnight in cold water, rinse several times then cook either alone to be added to a recipe or as part of a recipe.
As an emergency you can soak for an hour or two in boiling water (ie water is boiled and then goes onto the beans and is then left) then rinse as before.

Never add salt until the pulses have softened - adding salt during cooking makes the skins tough



Brown lentils are whole lentils
Orange lentils are skinless split lentils and need no soaking or precooking.
Urad dhal or urid dal are whole black lentils but sometimes the split version with or without the black skins is sold under the same name, so it depends which you have how you should treat it.
channa dhal (or dal) are chick peas.

Cooking times:
Whole lentils cook for 30-45 minutes soaked 1- 1.5 hours unsoaked
chickpeas 1-1.5 hours soaked
split red lentils15-20 minutes soaked 20-30 minutes unsoaked

BAGGY

I use the orange lentils.
Cut onion, garlic, fresh chilli and ginger and fry a bit. Add lentils and cover with water (or stock)about twice as much in depth. Cook with salt until they are mushy and add coconut (desicated or block) and frozen spinach. Meanwhile fry dry chilli, mustard seeds, curry leaves and more onion in quite a bit of oil/butter. When cooked immediately pour onto the lentils and put a lid on. Before serving you can add some lemon juice if you have it.

mother_noah

I'm making lentil curry for dinner tomorrow . Don't really follow any particular recipe but it always has coconut and pineapple in it . Yummy