From Asia House to your plate

From Asia House to your plate
01 April 2020
Curried Lentils with Roasted Cauliflower and Cashew Nuts
This is a recipe Asia House in-house chef Paul Bloomfield frequently prepares at Asia House as a side dish for many of our hot buffets. It also works well as a dish on its own.
- 100g unsalted butter
- 2 tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 onion, peeled and finely diced
- 3 cloves garlic, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 tbsp curry powder
- 1 cinnamon stick, about 5cm
- 2 star anise
- 1 tsp garam masala
- 400g red lentils, soaked for 20 minutes in cold water, then drained
- 1 vegetable stock
- 4 tbsp plain yoghurt
- 2 tbsp single cream
- 1 cauliflower, broken into florets
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- lemon juice
- pinch salt
- 50 g cashew nuts, finely chopped
- coriander leaves, to garnish
Place a heavy bottomed saucepan over a medium heat, add the butter and oil. Heat for 1 minute.
Add the onion, garlic, ginger and spices and saute for 3 minutes, until the onion is translucent. Then add the spices and saute for 2 more minutes.
Add the lentils and vegetable stock, then half the yoghurt and all of the cream. Simmer for 20-25 minutes, adding more liquid, if needed, to keep a loose texture.
Meanwhile, toss the florets with the turmeric and the olive oil and roast in a preheated oven at 190 degrees for 15 mins, then remove and toss with the lemon juice.
Take the lentils off the heat, season with salt and pepper, pour into a serving dish and top with cauliflower and peanuts. Then drizzle over the remaining yoghurt and garnish with coriander leaves.