A celebration with Beef Rendang etc! PartTwo - The Accompaniments

Masoor Dahl

Part One - included the recipe for the Beef Rendang an Indonesian spicy hotpot. Part Three will be the Lamb Saag, so Part Two is all about the "sides".

The principal dish was lentil based. I've never really eaten a lentil dish before, well I've had a Dhansak which includes lentils but never a dahl and I've dabbled with some Puy lentils reluctantly. In my Three Sisters Indian Cookbook I found an easy, quick to make recipe which looked ideal for a first attempt.

Masoor Dhal

First I rinsed 250g red split lentils under cold running water, then put them in a saucepan with 2 litres of water, a good pinch of salt, a large finely chopped onion, 2 large chopped tomatoes, some grated fresh ginger (about an inch), 2 green chillies (halved), a teaspoon of ground coriander, a teaspoon of ground ginger, 1.5 teaspoons of turmeric and 2 cloves of crushed garlic. Give it all a good stir, bring to the boil and then allow to simmer gently for 15 minutes.

Just before the time is up heat 1.5 tablespoons of oil in a frying pan, then fry half a teaspoon of whole cumin seeds and quarter of a teaspoon of mustard seeds until they crackle (be careful they fly everywhere - I wasn't sure if many of the mustard seeds made it in, I would use more to account for this!), then add 2 cloves of crushed garlic letting it cook for just 30 seconds, then tip the mix into the lentil, being careful as it may spit.

You can serve straight away, but I left mine to mature for a while before reheating and serving with a good squirt of lemon juice and some freshly ground black pepper. You can also sprinkle with fresh coriander or toasted almonds. You might like to adjust the salt before serving too. I made mine with quite a thick texture, I used quite a lot of salt as I it seemed to take it - I don't usually add much salt.

So really my advice on this is to keep tasting and adjusting, I also added a bit of extra cumin and if it wasn't for the children I would probably have added a bit of chilli powder to pep it up a bit. As it was a was really surprisingly nice, nothing like lentils I've had before, a nice texture, but almost refreshing, a good accompaniment for heavier meat curries and would make a great choice if you had vegetarian guests.

Some fluffy basmati rice with fresh coriander

In the end I had to buy samosas and naan breads from Marks and Spencer. I'm not a big fan of naan, they are wonderful the minute they arrive but unless you eat them straight away they become hard and chewy. I love rice though and no curry meal would be complete for me without it. I never used to like basmati as I found it watery and lacking in texture, however, I have learnt a way to cook it which ensure it's just about always lovely.

Take 9 oz basmati rice (to serve 3-4) and put it in a pan. At this point you can add any flavourings and colouring you like -salt, stock cubes, spices, friend onions or garlic, dried herbs, turmeric for colour. Boil the kettle then add 23 fluid oz of boiling water to the pan and turn on the heat, the water comes back to the boil, stir well once and clamp on a tight fitting lid, turn the heat down to a simmer for between 10 and 15 minutes, it does vary according to the day - you just need to keep an eye on it. The way I tell if it's ready is I have a wet cloth ready and if when I put the pan on the cloth it hisses or sighs then I know it's ready, I leave it on the cloth, remove the lid, stir with a fork and cover the pan with a fresh tea towel to absorb the steam and moisture. You can then serve as it is or, stir in some coriander, toasted almonds or cashews, fried onions, garlic mushrooms, some keema mince, lemon zest, sauteed garlic, peas, a combination - anything you fancy.


Onion Bhaji's

I tried the recipe for these out of the Hairy Bikers Book (see the link above). The recipe I already have makes dense, spice filled bhajis and are quite labour intensive - lots of grating and chopping. I needed something much easier.

All you had to do was slice 3 medium onions and add them to a bowl with 125g of gram flour and 2 finely chopped green chillies (no seeds). Toss everything together until the onions are well coated.

Next in a bowl mix an egg with a heaped teaspoon of garam masala and half a teaspoon of chilli powder, a couple of large pinches of salt and 5 tablespoons of cold water, give it a good whisk then mix it into the onion mixture.

To cook deep fry in vegetable oil, be very careful and never leave your pan unattended, fry small spoonfuls for 3-4 minutes until they are golden brown and cooked. Make sure you don't over fill your pan with oil, never more than about half way and don't add too much food at once as you will lower the temperature and you might overflow the oil. You will know when it's hot enough to use if you pop in a chunk of bread and it flats to the top and goes golden brown. Keep a damp tea towel ready just in case of accidents.

I had to save mine and reheat them which wasn't ideal, if you can cook straight before serving. They are really crisp and spicy and best of all not too dense and filling, an accompaniment - not a meal. Try adjusting your spices to taste or adding in more fresh chillies - perhaps a red one instead. They go lovely with some mango chutney.

Some mango chutney, mini poppadoms, lime pickle and a salad made from onion, tomato, cucumber and chilli. 

The table

We also had some chicken tikka but that's a long story involving some Ocado shopping that never arrived, an impromptu trip to the Co-op, a ready meal of hunters chicken and a bit of invention! Not a method I feel I should share with the world but it's crazy what you can do in an emergency!