Posts tagged mango

Indian Lamb Cutlets, ‘Speedy’ Black Daal, Roti and a Mango Salad

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Indian Lamb Cutlets, ‘Speedy’ Black Daal, Roti and a Mango Salad

 

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After countless (well 4) visits to London’s Dishoom – a modern buzzing Indian restaurant – it was only a matter of time before I attempted an Indian themed supper blog post. The first time I visited this spice scented hub I was recommended to sample their ‘house black daal’. I was blown away. It was delicious: ‘dark, rich and deeply flavoured’ (their words) It certainly was. I’ve since geekily been dreaming about it and so I have attempted my own version here with homemade (albeit thicker) roti.

Made with black lentils (urda dal) unlike your normal daal, they are hard to find it seems? Ok I admit I didn’t look that hard but if they are casually (and naively) added to your shopping list don’t expect them to conveniently locate themselves on the shelf for you. In my haste I ended up buying a packet of ready to serve (I KNOW! This won’t become a habit, it was my only option) Merchant Black Beluga Lentils which have a slightly more gelatinous texture when cooked. I used these to make my own ‘speedy’ daal. I hear Dishoom simmer theirs long and slow for 24 hours which clearly makes these the ‘bees knees’ but my version was surprisingly and deliciously a very close match. Packed with spice and comforting cinnamon for a devine creation served loose textured with homemade roti. Daal can actually be served as a main dish but I made mine here as a side to a fresh lime dressed salad full of mango, mint, shaved fennel and radish and the most tender and succulent Indian spiced lamb cutlets I’ve had to date.

NOTE: I’m always thoroughly impressed at the quality of the meat at my local butchers back home. It really drums home the emphasis to buy your meat locally and not from your average Tesco not just for local support but the quality is infinitely better.

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Serves 2

Daal

  • 1 x 200g packet of beluga black lentils
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 1 small red onion, finely chopped
  • 2 x garlic cloves, finely chopped
  • ½ red chilli, chopped
  • Knob ginger, grated
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 small tbsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • ½ tsp ground cinnamon
  • 1 tbsp tomato puree
  • Small handful chopped coriander
  • 1 tbsp salted butter
  1. Put the lentils in a pan with the cinnamon stick and cloves and cover with enough boiling water just to cover. Simmer for about 10 minutes to allow the spices to infuse and the lentils to continue to turn mushy.
  2. Meanwhile fry the onion in a little oil until soft. Add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry for a few more minutes until everything is soft and the raw each has been cooked out.
  3. Add all the dry spices and fry for 2 minutes.
  4. Add and cook out the tomato puree and then remove from the heat.
  5. Drain the lentil and keep any cooking water. Remove the cinnamon stick and the cloves ideally if you can.
  6. Use a masher to coarsely mash the lentil to break them down.
  7. Add enough of the drained juices (and more boiling water as I had to do) to create a creamy loose texture.
  8. Stir in the spice mix and coriander.
  9. Make sure it is sloppy in texture before whisking in a knob of butter for a glossy finish to the dish.
  10. Serve scattered with coriander and with homemade roti.

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Lamb Cutlets

  • 1 heaped tsp garam masala
  • 1 ½ heaped tsp dukka (see here or buy locally)
  • 6 lamb cutlets
  1. Marinade the lamb in the spices with a tbsp or so of oil.
  2. When ready to cook at the very last minute, heat a pan until hot (use the one that cooked the daal spices for a nice base flavour)
  3. First render the fat from the outside by standing eat cutlet on its side until the fat is crispy. Then cook for 2 minutes each side on a high heat for deliciously pick meat and crispy outside.
  4. Leave to rest for 5 minutes wrapped in foil.

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Mango Salad

  • 1 mango, peeled and sliced
  • ½ fennel bulb, shaved or thinly chopped
  • 6 radishes, sliced
  • ½ red onion, sliced thinly
  • Cucumber, sliced
  • Handful mint, chopped
  • Handful coriander, chopped
  • Juice 1 lime
  1. Mix the ingredients together and squeeze over the lime. Drizzle with a little oil is needed.

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Roti

  • 225g self raising flour
  • 140ml water
  • 1 tbsp Nigella seeds
  • Salt and pepper
  1. Mix the flour, seasoning and seeds together in a bowl.
  2. Mix in the water or enough to bind the mixture together to form a dough. Use a fork to do this.
  3. Knead lightly until smooth and rest in a bowl for 30 minutes or so.
  4. Roll out on a floured surface very thinly.
  5. Heat a frying pan until hot. Fry for a few minutes on each side untileach is golden and beginning to char. The roti will puff up and form lovely bubbles.
  6. If not eating immediately, once cooked, pop in a preheated warm oven to keep warm and supple until ready to dip generously in your daal.

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Mango-chilli Salsa and Halloumi

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Mango-chilli Salsa and Halloumi

I don’t know where the first week of March has gone but I can surely say that it officially feels like spring! The suns been out and daffodils are starting to infiltrate their way onto desks and kitchen tables. Time for spring clean of the same old lunch time menu (i.e. soup) and a refreshing recipe….

Serves 2 (for a good lunch)

  • 1 mango, cut into 2cm cubes
  • About 8 cherry tomatoes, diced
  • ½ red chilli, chopped finely
  • ½ small red onion, chopped finely
  • Bunch coriander, chopped
  • Bunch mint, chopped
  • Bunch basil, chopped
  • ½ pomegranate, seeds
  • 1 lime
  • 6 slices halloumi
  • Runny honey
  • Handful sesame seeds
  1. Combine the first 8 ingredients in a large bowl and muddle together with the juice of the lime. Season with salt and pepper. Add a splash of extra virgin olive oil
  2. Heat a frying pan until hot and add a small drizzle of oil. Fry the halloumi until golden on both sides. Turn the heat off and add a tsp of runny honey and the sesame seeds and coat the halloumi for about 30 seconds before removing from the heat.
  3. Serve the salsa topped with the warm halloumi slices.

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Caribbean Rice Salad

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Caribbean Rice Salad

Today is ‘forage in the pantry’s’ 1st Birthday! It been a delicious year of cooking and blogging. Looking back on my first entry, ’The Best…Peanut Butter Cookies’, I feel compelled to make something peanut infused! However, with all this fantastic hot weather we’ve been enjoying and with today being yet another scorcher, the cleansing flavours of the Caribbean seem appropriate. Cold rice salads are totally underrated as rice is normally associated with curries and hot meals. This delicious one comes courtesy of Ottolenghi- the salad king. I always eat brown wild rice or Camargue as its healthier and full of flavour and adds a welcome component to a meal. This salad definitely needs the Camargue rice as it adds colour and an amazing nutty flavour. Even cooking it infuses the kitchen with its tasty aroma. Don’t use white rice here as it just won’t work….on any level.

While this is devoured, its time to crack on with a proper birthday cake…..

Serves 4-5 easily (Adapted from Ottolenghi’s Plenty)

  • 150g Camargue rice
  • 100g wild brown rice
  • Bunch of basil, shredded
  • Bunch of mint leaves, shredded
  • Bunch of coriander, shredded
  • 1 red pepper, sliced thinly
  • 2 spring onions, sliced
  • 1 fresh red chilli, chopped (seeds and all if you like it hot)
  • Zest and juice of 1 lemon
  • Juice ½ lime
  • 1 mango, cubed into 2cm dice
  • 60g roasted salted peanuts
  • 50g desiccated coconut
  • Salt
  • 1-2 tbsp oil
  1. Boil the rice for about 20 minutes until cooked. Drain and spread out onto a large plate to cool.
  2. Mix all the other ingredients in a large bowl apart from the lemon and lime juice and the oil.
  3. When the rice is cool, add to the other ingredients and gently toss together until combined. Squeeze over the lemon and lime juice and add enough oil to moisten the salad to your liking- I only added about 1 tbsp but add more if you like.

Note: This would be lovely with my Asian Salmon recipe!

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Mango Fruit Leather

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Mango Fruit Leather

I’ve never made fruit leather before but it is a fantastic way to use up overripe fruit and transform it into a energy laden, tasty snack for when your batteries are running low…….

  • 1 ripe mango
  • 2 tbsp caster sugar
  • Lemon juice from ½ small lemon
  1. Preheat the oven to about 50-60°C or its lowest setting.
  2. Line a small shallow baking tray with parchment (very approximately 23cm x 13cm or anything around that size)
  3. Place the chopped flesh of the mango into a food processor with the sugar and the lemon juice. Process to form a fruit puree (in theory this can be done with any other fruits, adjusting the sweetness to taste)
  4. Transfer the mixture to the lined tray so that it is about 3mm thick and evenly spread.
  5. Place in the oven for about 6-10 hours until dry and leathery. I turned my oven off after about 6 hours and left it in the oven overnight and got it out the next day. This made sure it was dry but  gave it a lovely slightly chewy texture.
  6. To store, I sliced mine into thin strips and rolled into wheels, with a piece of baking parchment between to stop it sticking. Alternatively, just chop into pieces of whatever size you like!

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