My Kitchen Diaries

best vegetable dhal ever.

Second helpings of the curry I featured the other day. This time I’ve accompanied it with rice (mixed with toasted caraway seeds and coriander leaf) and a plain naan (which, I’m afraid to say, I bought).

although this all looks really yellow, it’s a yummy Thai style curry. the sauce is made with onion, garlic, lemongrass, chilli paste, tamarind, ground ginger, turmeric, toasted fennel and cumin seeds, and coconut milk. it’s got red pepper, fennel, oyster mushrooms, and prawns floating in it. I’ve finished it off with fish sauce, lime juice, palm sugar, & a ton of coriander. I’ve dolloped it all on top of rice noodles and eaten it with extreme enjoyment.

these little pies are filled to the brim with slow cooked beef kidney, which I braised for an hour and a half with onions, celery, & carrot, and with curry powder and turmeric. then I put the puff pastry in a muffin tin, and put the filling in it before cooking it for 30 minutes. they tasted amazing and so cheap!

griddled chicken thighs, which have been rubbed in spices (curry powder, cumin, fennel seeds). there are two side salads- beetroot dressed with lemon juice; and spinach, watercress, and rocket, dressed with chilli oil and vinegar. there’s also some rice, and some yogurt with parsley.

Lentil curry. Spice base contains fennel seeds, cumin seeds, coriander, dried chillies, pomegranate seeds, asafoetida, and turmeric. I’ve added chopped tomatoes and chicken stock, and let it cook down. In the final stages I stirred in some natural yoghurt, and parsley. Served with boiled basmati rice, and roasted red peppers.

It’s that curry again: slow-cooked pork Indonesian style. I’m having it with (again) a fried egg, boiled rice, and some salad

Final stage of the curry! I cooked it for the final hour at 120 degrees, and mixed it with lime juice and coriander leaves. I also served it with a dhal (green lentils with garlic, and cumin and fennel seeds, cooked in chicken stock) and a fried egg. I really like fried egg with South-East Asian style curries. Eating the creamy yolk (and the crispy white) complements the spices really well.

Phase 2 complete. It’s darker and the meat is very tender. Now I’m going to put it in the fridge overnight to let the flavours settle a bit more and then eat it tomorrow night after another hour or so in a very low oven (around 120 degrees) with the addition of some fresh chilli.

This is a curry with pork and sort of Indonesian-style spice paste that’s been simmering away for about 90 minutes now. The sauce is just right, and it tastes good, but the pork isn’t quite melt in the mouth, which is what I’m going for. So tomorrow I’m going to cook it at 150°c for maybe a couple of hours until it is wonderful.