Creamy, lemony, coconut daal, dhal, dal...curry?

Dahl, how do I love thee? Let me count the ways...a great big, warm, heartening bowl of lentils, with a zing of lemon and a smoke of curry leaves, mustard seeds and lots and lots of garlic.

Comfort food at it's best. I used to think there were 'dhal rules' somewhere out there. That it had to be made this way, or that way, or had to contain this or that particular thing. It isn't so. One of the main reasons I love dahl is because there are no rules really. You can make dal pretty much any which way (and spell it pretty much any which way) as long as it involves lentils cooked into a stew-like form. That's it, that is all the daal judges are after folks.

Twist all the other components which ever way you want them. There are proper and authentic differences in dhal, that don't just fall from whims, and the roots of which lie in historical and geographical variations across india. They're all fascinating to explore but always feel free to make your own history and draw from your surroundings and or personal preferences. Stick to the spicy lentil stew principle and build up from there.

This one is a beauty. It has added texture, zing and a bit more of a spring in its step than the traditional sambar, soup-y, type dahl's. I went for ginger and an over-emphasised lemony flavour, which works really well with this type of lentil and cuts through the coconut preventing it from being too creamy. Although this is really substantial, and more of a curry in its own right, it still wouldn't be complete without serving it with nan bread and boiled rice, but then again what curry would be?

Ingredients:

2 medium white onions

2 lemons

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tbsp black mustard seeds

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp garam masala

2 tsps of turmeric

2 tbsp olive oil

2 garlic cloves

1 green chilli

2 inch piece of fresh ginger

300g / 10 and half oz puy lentils

1 pint of organic vegetable stock

50g / 1.8 oz creamed coconut

Sea salt and black pepper

Small bunch of fresh coriander

Slice the onions into fine half moons and put in a bowl with the whole juice of one lemon and grate over the zest of lemon.

Toss and set aside. De-seed and finely chop the chilli. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Peel the ginger and slice into thin match-stick shapes.

Get a high sided frying pan on a medium heat and once the base of the pan is warmed through add the cumin, garam masala, coriander, mustard seeds and turmeric and dry fry them for a minute or two. As they become aromatic tip them out into a dish and put to one side with the onions for later. In the same pan add the 2 tbsp of olive oil and keep the heat down low.

Add the garlic, chilli and ginger. Cook for 1 minute and add the onions. Cook together for 7 minutes, or until the onions start to brown and stir in the lentils.

Add the vegetables stock and the dry fried spices and bring to a boil. As soon as it reaches the boil, reduce to a low simmer. Shred the creamed coconut and stir this in. Make sure you give this a good stir until all the coconut disappears as it will take a few moments to break down into the liquid.

Cook for approximately 30-40 minute or until the lentils are softened. Once they are soft season the pot with sea salt and black pepper (not before as this can alter the texture of the lentils whilst they are cooking).

Squeeze in the juice of half the second lemon with some more zest. Sprinkle with roughly chopped fresh coriander to serve.

Serves 4

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Sweet Potato Curry

We've heard it all before - but there really is no excuse to go about buying ready made curry paste or sauce when you can make curry this good this quickly. Don't be shy on coming forward with the garlic in this one as it really adds to its glory. Boiling the sweet potatoes in water with a spoon of honey stirred in takes away the starchy edge to sweet potato and draws out a beautiful, delicate and sweet flavour of this orange yam type creature. Blending the chilli's, garlic, onion and lime in a paste beforehand is a great way of getting the rich creamy texture within the sauce which will coat the vegetables beautifully. If you haven't already got a hand-held blender go out and get one immediately as it makes life so much easier. This really is a cook-by-colour recipe; the vivid orange and yellowy texture of the vegetables and sauce make it a bit of a common sense composition more than anything else and this usually works as a way of improvising when cooking.

Ingredients:
7 cloves of garlic
1 medium white onion
2 red chillis
1 lime
2 tbsp olive oil
Sea Salt
3 medium sized sweet potato
1 tbsp honey
100g / 3 and half oz Organic Creamed Coconut
300ml of boiling water
3 medium vine tomatoes
1tsp turmeric
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ground coriander
1 can organic chick-peas (400g)
2 tablespoons single cream
Handful of fresh coriander

Prep all the vegetables. Peel and finely chop the garlic and the onion. De-seed and chop the red chillies. Whizz the garlic, chilli, onion, lime juice and olive oil into a fine paste with either a hand held blender or a food processor. Season well and set aside.

Peel the sweet potatoes and roughly chop them in to cube shape pieces about 2cm x 2cm. Get a large pan of boiling water on the hob and stir in your spoon of honey and some sea salt. Then add the sweet potato and let them simmer for about 8 minutes. Drain when the potatoes are tender enough to push a knife through easily.

Get another large, heavy bottomed, pan and add the turmeric, cumin seeds, and coriander and dry fry over a low heat for a few minutes until they become really aromatic. Rub a pestle over the top of them in the pan whilst they are cooking to break up the seeds a little to release the flavours.

Tip in the garlic paste and give it a good stir. Don't rinse out the bowl you need it again. Chop the creamed coconut roughly then add it into the paste jug and add 300ml of boiling water and stir together so the creamed coconut melts through. Now stir this into the curry paste.

Fill a large bowl with boiling water and sit the tomatoes in for a few minutes. Remove with a slotted spoon and drain, their skins should pop off pretty easily now.

Peel and remove any stalks, whizz with a handheld blender to make a tomato puree; add this to the curry sauce. Leave on a low simmer for 10 minutes. After 5 minutes add the drained chickpeas and stir into the sauce to warm through.

Add the cream and the remaining half a lime juice. After about 3 minutes fold in the cooked sweet potatoes. Cook together for a 3-5 minutes more.

Season to taste, sprinkle with the fresh coriander and serve with some plain boiled rice. Serves 4. Read more On 'Sweet Potato Curry'