MOONG DHAL, KALE AND COCONUT SALAD
Serves 4
Bringing a bit of sunshine to your kitchen, this is a great, light lentil dish to serve in the height of summer. Known in India as Kosambari, it’s packed full of flavours and textures very traditional to cuisine from Udupi, a colourful South Indian city. It’s traditionally enjoyed during religious festivals.
• 200 g/7 oz. yellow split moong dhal, picked and rinsed, then soaked overnight in 1 litre lukewarm water with 1 tsp salt
• 50 g/1oz kale, thinly sliced into strips
• 2 carrots, peeled and grated
• ½ cucumber, diced into 1-cm/½-inch cubes
• 2 tbsp desiccated/dried shredded coconut
• 30 g/1oz piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• Freshly squeezed juice of 1 lime
• 2 tbsp freshly chopped coriander/cilantro
• ½ tsp fine sea salt (optional)
For the Tadka:
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp mustard seeds
• Pinch of asafoetida powder
• 15 fresh curry leaves
• Small pinch of crushed dried chilli flakes/hot red pepper flakes
1 | Drain the soaked moong dhal, discarding the soaking water, and set aside until needed.
2 | Bring a large saucepan of cold water to the boil. Add the kale and boil for 2–3 minutes, then drain into a colander and rinse undercold running water. Drain well again and set aside for a moment.
3 | In a mixing bowl, combine the soaked and drained moong dhal, the carrots, cucumber, coconut, ginger, lime juice and coriander. Add the drained kale and mix all of the ingredients together until well combined. Set aside while you prepare the tadka.
4 | Heat the vegetable oil in a small saucepan over a medium heat. Add the mustard seeds and let them sizzle and crackle in the hot oil for 1 minute. Add the asafoetida, curry leaves and chilli flakes. Shake the pan well to ensure all the ingredients are coated in oil and then carefully drizzle over the kale salad mixture. Toss well to coat the salad in the seasoned oil and check the seasoning, adding the salt if required. Serve.
DOSA BATTER CINNAMON WAFFLES WITH DATE SYRUP
Serves 4 (Makes 8 Small Waffles)
Dosa waffle batter:
• 150 g (2 oz) dried split channa dhal, picked and rinsed, then soaked in 500 ml (2 generous cups) lukewarm water overnight
• 150 g/5½oz. basmati rice, soaked in 500 ml (2 generous cups) water overnight
• 1 tbsp palm sugar/jiggery
• ½ tsp ground cinnamon
• ½ tsp baking powder
Date syrup:
• 225g (8 oz) soft pitted dates
• 1 tsp palm sugar/jiggery
• 200ml (generous ¾ cup) boiling water
You will also need:
• Waffle machine
1 | For the dosa batter, drain the channa dhal and basmati rice separately, retaining the soaking water from each separately, too. Using a wet grinder if you have one (or a food processor), blitz the soaked channa dhal to a smooth purée, adding up to 10 spoonfuls of the soaking water gradually to help process it down. Set aside and then do the same with the soaked rice. It’s better to grind them separately because the textures of the two grains can vary. Do not yet discard either of the remaining soaking waters.
2 | Once blended, you should be left with around 270g of ground rice purée and 460g of ground channa dhal purée. Combine both mixtures in a bowl and pour in 150ml of the remaining soaking water, from the rice or channa dhal. Add the palm sugar/jaggery, cinnamon and baking powder and whisk together to form a batter similar in consistency to pancake batter. Set aside.
3 | Combine the pitted dates, palm sugar/jaggery and boiling water in a saucepan and simmer over a medium heat for 5–6 minutes, or until the dates are very soft. Use the wet grinder or food processor to blitz the dates with the excess liquid to form a date syrup. Set aside.
4 | To make the waffles, preheat the waffle machine following the manufacturer’s instructions. Ladle in enough batter to cover the plate on one side (I use two small ladlefuls). Close the machine and cook for 12–15 minutes (cooking instructions do vary so check the instructions for your machine), then remove. Repeat for the remaining mixture; it should make eight small waffles. Serve the warm waffles drizzled with the date syrup.
CHANNA DHAL WITH CHARRED STICKY TOFU
Serves 4
In this recipe, the channa dhal is cooked with turmeric until soft, then submerged in a spiced, fragrant sauce. Buttery-soft onions, fresh ginger, garlic, green chilli and a blend of aromatic spices and tomatoes are simmered down together to give the perfect balance of spice, sweet and sourness then topped with charred marinated sticky tofu.
For the chaana dhal base:
• 150 g (2oz) channa dhal
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• 1 litre boiling water
For the tadka:
• 3 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced
• 25g (1oz) piece of fresh ginger, peeled and grated
• 1 green chilli halved lengthways
• 10–12 fresh curry leaves
• Pinch of asafoetida powder
• 1 onion, finely chopped
• ½ tsp fine sea salt
• ½ tsp ground cumin
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
To finish:
• 2 large tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 1 tsp palm sugar/jaggery
• Freshly squeezed juice of ½ lemon
• 5–6 fresh coriander/cilantro stems, plus extra to garnish (optional)
To serve:
• Charred Sticky Tofu (see recipe below) You will also need
• Pressure cooker (optional)
1 | For the channa dhal base, pick through the dhal to remove any stones. Place it in a colander and rinse under cold running water until the water runs clear.
2 | Place the washed dhal in a pressure cooker along with the salt, turmeric and boiling water. Close the pressure cooker and place over a medium heat. Cook for about 15 minutes. (If you don’t have a pressure cooker, you will first need to soak the picked and rinsed lentils in 1 litre of boiling water for 3–4 hours. Drain, then transfer the lentils to a large saucepan with 1 litre of fresh boiling water, the salt and turmeric. Cover with a lid, bring to the boil and then simmer over a medium heat for 45 minutes, topping up with more boiling water as needed.)
3 | When cooked, the lentils should be soft but should still hold their round disc-like shape. Release the steam from the pressure cooker slowly (or remove the pan from the heat). Remove the lentils, and drain and reserve the cooking water. Set both aside until needed.
4 | Next, prepare the tadka. Put the vegetable oil into a saucepan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle and crackle in the hot oil for 1 minute. Add the garlic, ginger, green chilli and curry leaves. Gently shake the pan, so that all of the ingredients are coated in the oil and fry for 30 seconds. Add the asafoetida and shake the pan once more. Add the onion and salt and fry for 10 minutes until the onion is softened and lightly browned.
5 | Add the cumin, coriander and turmeric. Stir well to coat the onion in the spices and fry for 30 seconds. If the pan dries out, add a splash of the reserved lentil cooking water to loosen the ingredients and stop them from sticking to the bottom of the pan.
6 | Stir in the chopped tomatoes, then reduce the heat to low and allow the tomatoes to soften and completely melt for 5–6 minutes. Keep stirring to ensure the tomatoes do not stick to the pan.
7 | Once the tomatoes have completely melted down to form a sauce base, add the palm sugar, the cooked channa dhal and the lemon juice. Mix well and simmer gently for a further 6–7 minutes.
8 | Add the coriander to finish and mix in well. Remove from the heat and divide the channa dhal between serving bowls. Top with the charred sticky chunks of tofu, as you prefer, and garnish with extra coriander to serve, if liked.
CHARRED STICKY TOFU
Serves 4 (As a topping)
• 200g (7oz) diced firm tofu
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• ½ tbsp tamarind paste
• 1 tsp palm sugar/ jiggery
• Baking sheet, lined with baking parchment
1 | Preheat the oven to 180°C (350°F) Gas 4.
2 | Place the diced tofu in a mixing bowl and add the vegetable oil, tamarind paste and palm sugar. Mix well to evenly coat the tofu in the marinade. Space out the tofu on the prepared baking sheet and roast in the preheated oven for 12 minutes until slightly charred and crisp. Keep warm until needed.
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