SPICE AND EASY

Street café dhal

SERVES 3–4 AS PART OF A SHARING MEAL

200g yellow split peas, rinsed ½tsp ground turmeric ½tsp sea salt 3 tomatoes, chopped freshly squeezed lemon juice, to taste

For the tarka 1tbsp ghee 7.5g butter 3 garlic cloves, finely chopped 1tsp cumin seeds 1tsp black mustard seeds 1 large dried red chilli 8–10 fresh or dried curry leaves 2 long, thin green chillies, split lengthways ½tsp red chilli powder

To garnish a few curry leaves, fried a few red chillies, fried drizzle chilli oil

Put the rinsed peas in a bowl, add cold water to cover and leave to soak for 20 minutes, then drain. Transfer to a saucepan with a lid, add 750ml water, the turmeric and salt and stir. Bring to the boil over a medium-high heat, skimming the surface as necessary, then lower the heat a little and simmer for 5 minutes.

Stir in the tomatoes, cover the pan and simmer for 10–15 minutes until the split peas are very tender. Use the back of a spoon to lightly crush the split peas and tomatoes against the side of the pan.

Set aside and keep hot.

To make the tarka, melt the ghee and butter together in a frying pan over a mediumhigh heat until sizzling. Reduce the heat to medium, add the garlic and stir constantly until it just starts to brown. Add the cumin and mustard seeds and red chilli, and continue stirring until the seeds crackle and pop. Watch closely in case the garlic starts to burn.

Stir in the curry leaves, green chillies and chilli powder, then quickly add a ladleful of the split pea mixture to the pan. Tip the contents of this pan into the split peas and stir together.

Return the split peas to the boil. Stir in the lemon juice and add a little more salt if needed. Garnish with the fried curry leaves and red chillies, and a drizzle of chilli oil to serve.

Mango and tempeh curry

SERVES 4

1tbsp sunflower oil 2 mangoes, halved, stoned, flesh cut away in cubes 2tbsp palm or light brown sugar 500g tempeh or seitan, cut into bite-sized cubes 400ml coconut milk 8 baby tomatoes, quartered spring onions, chopped, to garnish

For the curry paste 4–6 candlenuts or macadamia nuts 2 fresh red bird’s-eye chillies, coarsely chopped 3 shallots, chopped 2 thick lemongrass stalks, outer leaves removed and stalks bashed and chopped 1 long, thin green chilli, coarsely chopped

First, make the curry paste.

Put all the ingredients in a food processor and whizz until a fine paste forms, scraping down the side of the bowl. Alternatively, pound the ingredients using a pestle and mortar.

Heat a large wok over a high heat. Add the oil and swirl it around. Reduce the heat a little, add the curry paste and stir-fry until it is lightly coloured, being sure to stir all the time as the paste can quickly burn. It’s important to allow the shallots to cook at this point.

Add the mangoes and stir until all the pieces are coated in the paste. Stir in 200ml water, the sugar and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, then reduce the heat and simmer until the mangoes are just beginning to soften.

Add the tempeh or seitan, coconut milk and tomatoes and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and simmer for a further 5–7 minutes until the tomatoes begin to break down and the flavours blend. Taste and add more salt if necessary. Garnish with the spring onions to serve.

Burmese vegetable curry

SERVES 4

First, prepare the yellow split peas. Put the rinsed peas in a bowl, add cold water to cover and leave to soak for 20 minutes, then drain. Transfer to a saucepan, add plenty of water to cover and a pinch of salt and bring to the boil over a high heat, skimming the surface as necessary. Simmer for 20 minutes or until just tender, then drain well and set aside.

To make the tamarind water using a block, put it in a bowl, pour over around 400ml hot water and, when it’s cool enough, use your fingers to break up the pulp. After all the pulp has dissolved, making the liquid darker and thicker, strain it into a clean glass jar, screw on the lid and store in the fridge for 2–3 weeks to use in other curries. It can also be frozen and defrosted as required. If using paste, dilute with 2 parts water.

Heat a large dry wok over a high heat. Add the oil and swirl it around. Reduce the heat to medium, add the cumin seeds and stir-fry until they crackle. Add the onion and continue stir-frying until the onion is translucent. Stir in the bay leaf, ground coriander, chilli powder, cumin, turmeric and the split peas, and continue stirring for 30 seconds to cook the ground spices. Watch closely to make sure they don’t burn.

Stir in the tamarind water with the pumpkin or squash, aubergines, carrots, potatoes and mooli, and stir until the vegetables are well coated in the spices.

Pour in the stock and bring to the boil. Reduce the heat and leave the vegetables and split peas to simmer for 10–12 minutes until they are all tender. You should be able to squeeze the split peas between your fingers. Taste and add a little more salt, if necessary.

Garnish with coriander leaves and serve with sticky rice.

COOK’S NOTE

You can make tamarind water using a block of seedless, dried, compressed tamarind, available from Asian supermarkets. Or, if you prefer a milder flavour, use tamarind paste diluted with water. Both are preferable to bought tamarind extract, which tends to be overly salty.