Green Lentil Biryani

Since going on an Indian cookery course a couple of weeks ago, my 12 year old says that I have become a little addicted to making curries, and I'm inclined to agree with her. I'm sure it's just a phase and it will pass in time, but for now we're eating curry at least twice a week and we're enjoying it!

This weekend I cooked a Korma when family came over, and as usual I cooked far too much rice. I was going to make fried rice with it, but a last minute visit from the parents called for eeking it out a little further, and I cooked up some green lentils and made it into a biryani.

Green Lentil Biryani - serves 6/7

250g dried green lentils

vegetable oil

2 extra large onions, sliced

1 tsp garlic & ginger paste

1 tsp garam masala

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp paprika

1 tsp chilli powder (optional)

1 tsp turmeric

salt

600-700g cooked Basmati rice

flaked almonds, toasted

• Pour boiling water over the lentils and soak them for a couple of hours, then drain & rinse
• Add oil to a large pan and fry the onions until lightly browned
• Add the paste and spices and fry for 2-3 minutes, adding a little water to prevent it sticking
• Add the lentils and 200ml water and mix well
• Place a lid on, bring to the boil and simmer until all the liquid has been absorbed
• Stir in a pinch of salt and the rice and mix well and heat through
• Serve with toasted almonds scattered on top 

52 Cook Books : Subzi Biryani

I have a tonne of cook books, and that really is no exaggeration. I have at least 25 'current' books in my kitchen, the odd few by my bed and next to the sofa, and the bulk of them (2 shelves full) in a wardrobe in Jack's bedroom. I very rarely follow a recipe from a cook book despite having so many, I mainly use them for inspiration or to just flick through and drool at the pictures - one of my pet hates is a cook book that doesn't have a photo for each recipe, how on earth are we to know what the finished dish is supposed to look like!

Mary from Keynko has come up with a new weekly challenge where she will be cooking something that she's never cooked before from one of her many cook books - 52 of them to be precise, hence the name of the challenge. She is asking fellow bloggers to cook along with her too, so I'm going to try and join in every week.

Last night I decided to select a recipe and then buy any necessary ingredients this morning. I crept into Jack's bedroom where him and Hanna were fast asleep on their sleepover. In the darkness I reached into the wardrobe and picked out a book - Curry by Vivek Singh (and others), published in 2009. I have no idea where I got this book from, most likely a birthday or Christmas present. I think I browsed through it when I first received it but I have never cooked anything from it, thinking that many of the recipes had far too many ingredients! It's a 350 page book with recipes from India, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Africa, Caribbean, Japan & Britain (yes Britain!) by a variety of authors. It not only includes recipes but also information on cuisine and spices for each region.

The page I opened the book on was a recipe for Subzi Biryani, which pleased me, as after a quick scan of the ingredients I realised that I had pretty much everything already in the cupboard. I was only missing cumin seeds and tomatoes so instead substituted for ground cumin and a tin of tomatoes.

Apart from over cooking the rice (I'm useless when it comes to boiling rice) the recipe went to plan and was delicious, as well as being a perfect dish for the boys to come home to, after a day at the football - warming and filling (although my version does look more like a risotto!)

There is an almost identical version of this recipe on the BBC Good Food website here.

I've had a helping hand selecting next week's recipe, Apple & Apricot Treacle Bars from Good Food - The Collection.