In the past year or so, my love for a good cuzza (sorry, curry) has increased ten-fold. I mean, I've always enjoyed a curry, but recently I find myself hankering after fiery spices and South Asian flavours more frequently. When it comes to a takeaway I'm pretty set in my ways; its either a chicken saag or lamb bhuna, please!
I firmly believe you shouldn't deny yourself life's little pleasures, and I see curry as one of those. I'm more than happy to indulge in a takeaway curry every so often, but more recently have been trying to find ways to take the guilt out. The good news is that making your own curry is not only super easy and incredibly tasty, but also means you can avoid the fats often found in a takeaway.
Most supermarkets stock the spices you'll need for this, but if you're struggling try your local Indian supermarket. They're usually much cheaper in smaller, local stores than supermarkets for much greater quantities. Once you invest in a decent set of Indian spices you'll be set to try a whole range of recipes and create your very own favourites, at home.
First up: a tarka dhal.
Naturally, I turned to Google for a quick and simple tarka dhal recipe, and the first hit was this recipe by Jamie Oliver. Having now made this three times, I can confirm it is both simple and delicious. Score! I've tweaked it to make it Slimming World friendly, and this makes a big old batch. Enough to freeze into multiple tubs to enjoy as a side dish or on it's own with rice as a great veggie curry.
You will need400g red lentils
2 tsp turmeric
2 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground coriander
1 onion, finely chopped
3 tomatoes, chopped small
3 cloves garlic
2 green chillies
1 tsp ginger paste
Start by putting the lentils in a pan and covering with enough water to come to 2 inches above their surface. Bring to the boil, skim off any lentil-scum (yum), stir in the turmeric and reduce to a simmer. Pop a lid on and leave to cook gently.
In a non-stick pan, dry fry the cumin seeds for two minutes on a medium heat. This helps release their fragrance. Don't burn! Pop into a bowl and leave to the side. In the same (now empty) pan fry the garlic, onion, chillies, ginger and tomatoes for about five minutes. Add the garam masala, cumin seeds, and ground coriander. Cook for a further few minutes and then leave to one side until the lentils are ready.
You'll know the lentils are ready when the water is absorbed and they have the consistency of porridge. Add more water if needed. Mix in the aromatic tomato mixture and cook for a further couple of minutes. Season to taste - I usually add quite a lot of salt, so don't be alarmed if you're seasoning more than you would usually.
And that's it! Enjoy with rice or as a side dish.
Slimming World - syn valuesCompletely free!
(Well, the ginger paste is 0.5 syns per teaspoon. But seeing as this is split over several portions, it's basically syn-free)
