Ferreting around for the best recipes
A wonderfully spiced and authentic tasting lentil curry with carrot and potatoes. Served with Basmati rice and a delicious cucumber and mint riata.
Sorry I haven’t written many recipes lately as I have been extremely busy, however I think I have made up for the delay with this one. Tastes like it is straight from a very good Indian restaurant, and it is so easy to make!
I also served this with shop bough roti breads, these are entirely optional.
Serves two
Cooking time 45-50 minutes
Broken down into three sections – curry, rice and riata. It is best to soak the rice before you start, add make the riata and finish the rice as the lentils simmer.
100g red lentils – rinsed thoroughly
50g potato – peel, cut into 3-4cm cubes, pre cook in boiling water for 6-7 minutes
3 red onions – diced
1 carrot – thinly slice on diagonal
15g ginger – peel and grate
6 gloves garlic – crushed
5 green cardamom pods
5 cloves
6 fresh curry leaves
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 tsp ground fenugreek
1/4 tsp asafoetida
1 bay leaf
2 round tomatoes – cut into 1/8ths
2 sliced green chillies
1/2 tsp salt
water – approx. 500ml of water, enough to submerge lentils.
2 tbsp. vegetable oil
3tbs roughly chopped coriander leaf
Method: Start by heating the vegetable oil over a medium heat, once hot add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and the curry leaves. The leaves should sizzle and keep heating until the mustard seeds start to pop, a bit like popcorn.
Add the onion, chilli, garlic, ginger, bay leaf, cloves and cardamom pods then fry, stirring occasionally for 4-5 minutes until onions soften and start to colour.
Add the lentils, turmeric, fenugreek and asafoetida then stir well until combined. Fry for 1-2 minutes stirring frequently.
Now add approx. 500ml of water (around the same volume as mixture in the pan, enough to submerge the lentils) and bring to the boil, stirring frequently so lentils don’t catch on the pan. Once boiled and add the pre cooked potatoes, carrot and salt then cover pan and simmer for around 35-40 minutes, stirring every few minutes to prevent lentils catching and burning.
You may want to adjust the seasoning or thickness of the sauce to your preference, either by adding more water or cooking uncovered for a few minutes to cook the liquid off. Before serving add the sliced tomatoes and coriander – cooking just long enough to warm the tomatoes through but not long enough to cook them (not long enough that skins start to peel).
Ladle into bowls or Balti dishes and enjoy!
120g basmati rice – rinse well and soak in water for 30 minutes before cooking
Method: soak the rinsed rice in water for around 30 minutes, this plumps up the rice and makes a real difference.
Once soaked cook the rice in the same volume of water as the rice in a covered pan for 10-12 minutes or until rice absorbs all the water.
Fluff up the rice before serving.
150g greek yogurt
1/4 lime – juice only
40g cucumber – peel, deseed, finely dice
5-6 mint leaves – bruise then chop
salt – just a pinch
Method: start by peeling, deseeding then finely dicing the cucumber. Many recipes will call for this to be grated, however I prefer the texture of the diced cucumber. Lay the diced cucumber on a clean kitchen towel or absorbent paper and the place more on top. Press gently and leave for 10-15 minutes to remove excess liquid.
In a bowl mix the yogurt, lime juice, cucumber, mint and a pinch of salt. Cover and set aside in the fridge until ready to serve.
This is best eaten the same day but will keep in the fridge for 1-2 days – any leftovers make a great dip for chips.
Salmon fillets, marinated in lime and turmeric then pan-fried. Served with a Dahl style lentil curry and pilau rice. Garnished with some sliced tomato, red onion and coriander.
This dish may look a little yellow, but don’t let that fool you – this is one of best curries I have designed in a while.
Serves two people
Preparation time 20 minutes, cooking time 50-60 minutes
2 skinless salmon fillets
Juice of two limes
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1 red bird eye chilli – thinly sliced
2 tablespoons vegetable oil – to fry salmon
Method: In a bowl mix the turmeric, sliced chilli and lime juice. Put salmon in bowl and give a god coating on all sides. Put in a fridge for at least an hour before cooking (best 2-3 hours) and remove 30 minutes before cooking to bring back to room temperature. The marinade will change the salmon from pink to yellow and infuse it with a wonderful flavour. To cook, heat two tablespoons of oil in a wide frying pan over a medium high heat. Cook the salmon for 4-5 minutes on each side then remove and place on absorbent paper to drain before serving.
125g red lentils – washed thoroughly
2 -3 round tomatoes – remove skin and seeds
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon mustard seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 large white onion
3-4 cloves garlic
1 green chilli – thinly sliced
1/4 teaspoon ground asafoetida
1 teaspoon salt – extra to taste
water
8-10 curry leafs
Garnish – 1 sliced tomato, 1 sliced red onion and chopped coriander
Method: Start by heating the oil in a deep pan over a medium high heat. Add the mustard seeds and fry until the begin to start to pop then add the onion, chilli, tomato and the garlic. Fry for 3-4 minutes then add the turmeric, stir well and fry for an additional minute then add the washed lentils and stir well. Add enough water to completely cover the lentils and bring to a simmer. Add the curry leafs , a teaspoon of salt and the asafoetida , stir well, and reduce heat to a simmer for 50 minutes, checking each 10 minutes and adding extra water as the lentils thicken and water cooks off. The dish is ready when the lentils break down and the sauce is at your chosen consistency. Before serving taste for seasoning and add additional salt to your taste. Add some sliced tomato, red onion and coriander as a garnish to the dish when served.
150 basmati or long grain rice – rinsed thoroughly
1 white onion – diced
2 cloves garlic – thinly sliced
15g butter
1/8 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground coriander
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
Bay leaf
Pinch saffron
Chicken stock – twice the volume of the rinsed rice
You require a medium to large pan with a tight-fitting lid (glass is best)
Method: melt the butter in a pan over a medium heat then add the onion, garlic and all the spices. Stir and fry for around 4 minutes until the onion softens and the spices become aromatic. Add the rice and stir through until the rice is fully coated and the mixed through the spiced onion mixture. Add twice the volume of stock to the volume of rice, bring to the boil then reduce heat to a simmer. Cover pan with a tight-fitting lid and leave on a low heat. Let the rice drink the stock as it cooks, it should take around 10 minutes for the rice to fully absorb the stock. Once stock is fully absorbed carefully remove pan lid and fluff rice with a fork before serving.
Marinated chicken roasted on the bone with Makhani style sauce and pilau rice.
Skinless chicken thighs marinated in spices and yogurt then roasted on the bone in a hot oven, giving the chicken deep Indian flavour and also keeping the chicken wonderfully moist. The sauce is made from onion, tomato, almonds, garlic, chilli and spices – it is a match for even the best of Indian takeaways here in the UK. The pilau uses chicken stock to cook the rice along with garlic, shallots and spices to give that authentic flavour.
This recipe is fairly straightforward and tastes so good that you may never order an Indian takeaway again.
Serves two people
Preparation time 25 minutes (plus 2-3 hours to marinade), cooking time 40 minutes
4-6 chicken thighs – skin off but keep on the bone
250g Greek yogurt
3 dessert spoons desiccated coconut
1/2 tsp cayanne pepper
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp coriander seeds
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp garam masala
Juice of half a lemon
Root ginger – 1/2 thumb sized piece, peel, finely chop
4 cloves garlic – peel roughly chop
Method: Combine the marinade ingredients in a large mixing bowl and stir well until combined. Add the skinless chicken thighs, mix well, cover and set aside in a fridge for at least 2-3 hours (overnight is even better). Remove from fridge 30 minutes before cooking to bring back to room temperature. To cook add the chicken to a large roasting dish and cook uncovered in a hot preheated oven (200ºC fan) for 30 minutes. Leave to cool in tray for 10 minutes before serving.
2 dessert spoons vegetable oil
4 cloves
4 cardamom pods
8 curry leafs
2 bay leaf
2 white onions – diced
4 cloves garlic – roughly chopped
1 large red chilli – sliced
2 dessert spoons flaked almonds – keep a few as garnish
2 tsp grated ginger
6 plum tomatoes – remove skin then cut into wedges
Approx 200ml water
25g butter – cut into cubes
1 dessert spoon brown sugar
Salt to taste – approx 1 tsp
Coriander leaf – as garnish
You require a stick blender for this recipe
Method: In a deep pan heat the oil over a medium heat then add the onions and stir fry for 4-5 minutes until browned. Add the chilli, garlic, bay leaf, curry leaf, cloves and cardamom and stir fry for a further 2-3 minutes. Next add the tomatoes, ginger and almonds and stir fry for 2 minutes before adding approx 200ml water. Stir well and bring back to a simmer, leave to reduce and break down the tomatoes for approx 10 minutes. Remove the bay and cardamom from the sauce then use a stick blender to blitz into a smooth curry sauce, if the sauce has reduced too much add a little extra water to loosen it. Add the sugar and the butter to the sauce and stir until combined, the butter will give the sauce the classic gleam of Indian curry sauces. Add salt to taste, when serving garnish with a few flaked almonds and coriander leaf.
4 shallots – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – thinly slice
15g butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Chicken stock – twice the volume of the rice
150g basmati rice – rinse well
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
Pinch saffron
Method: Use a pan with a tight-fitting lid, a dutch oven style one works best. Heat the butter in the pan then fry the shallots and garlic for 1-2 minutes. Next add the Cinnamon, turmeric, coriander and fry gently in the butter for a minute, take care not to burn the spices. Add the rice, cardamom, cloves and bay and stir gently so that each grain of rice is coated in the fried mixture. Add the chicken stock along with a pinch of saffron, bring to a simmer then place lid on the pan. Let the rice cook away until all the liquid is absorbed (approx 10-12 minutes on a low/medium heat) then fluff up with a fork before serving.
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Pan fried cod with Makhani curry sauce, served on pilau rice.
With this dish i decided to make a ‘posher’ version and decided to use pan fried cod as the sauce complements the delicate sweet white fish very well. I serve this with a delicious pilau rice which also complements the dish extremely well. The rice tastes extremely authentic yet is very straightforward to make whilst the curry sauce cooks.
Serves two people
Cooking time approx 45 minutes
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
3 medium sized brown onions (cut into chunks)
5 cloves garlic (peeled and crushed)
5 cloves
5 cardamom pods
3 bay leaf
1 large red chili (sliced)
6 round tomatoes (quartered)
thumb sized piece of ginger (cut 1/4 off, then thinly slice the rest)
100-150ml water
160ml coconut cream
3 tablespoons desiccated coconut
1 tablespoon dried sliced almonds
1-2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander
1-2 tablespoons brown sugar
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/4 teaspoon crushed fenugreek
25g butter (cut into cubes)
A hand blender is required. Best cooked in a large deep pan.
2 cod portions (approx 200g each)
50g butter for pan frying
Sea salt
Black pepper
Best cooked in a large flat non stick frying pan.
4 shallots – finely chopped
2 cloves garlic – thinly slice
15g butter
1/8 teaspoon ground cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
Chicken stock – twice the volume of the rice
150g basmati rice
4 cardamom pods
4 cloves
1 bay leaf
Pinch saffron
Best cooked in a dutch oven style cast iron pan with a heavy well fitting lid.
Pictural examples below:
Ferret chef 