This is perfect rice for me and it freezes and defrosts better than fresh !

This is the first base I've made and my wife said it was better than any curry I've produced !! , I'm not sure that's a great compliment to CA or an indication of the standards of my Indian cooking previous to joining this great site !! I made CAs vindaloo using the base yesterday and it was mmmmmmmmm !!!

Thanks for everyone's effort on here ( especially CA in this instance ) and for all the advice that has taken my curry cooking from 1/10 to 8/10 overnight !! 

My Bangladeshi friend showed me this and I was impressed because a) it's tasty and quick and b) a biffa like me can cook it time and time again and it always turns out nice.

You'll need : to serve 4 as a generous side dish

200g red lentils washed under cold water in a sieve for at least a couple of minutes
half an onion chopped smallish
3 cloves garlic sliced
1/2  teaspoon Panch Phoron
5 tablespoons of cooking oil
1 bay leaf
1 + 1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric
1/3 teaspoon cumin powder
2 dry chillies
water
2 tablespoons of fresh coriander chopped fine

In a wok : heat the oil over a highish heat and add 2 chillies and bay leaf , fry for 30 seconds or so and add the Panch Phoron , fry until you hear the seeds cracking / popping and then add the onion and garlic , fry until you can see the edges of the garlic and onion have caught a bit ( don't stir too often ). Add lentils and fry stirring often for about 5 minutes ( you'll see the lentils turning yellow ), add turmeric , cumin and 1 teaspoon of the salt and fry for a further 2 minutes. Add enough water to cover the lentils with a layer of water around 1cm thick over them. Cook uncovered for 20ish minutes until you can see that the lentils are no longer round but are soft and hard to distinguish as lentils ( most of the water will have been absorbed by now ) add the 1/2 teaspoon of salt you have left and the chopped coriander and cook for a further minute or two.

It's that simple and cheap as .. well lentils

Hello all ,

This looks a great site and I hope to pick up some good recipes that will help me through my time in Slovakia without BIR ... I've been here 9 years already and I've befriended the Bangladeshi / Slovak court translator which means some great evenings talking and eating curry but nothing like the good 'ol BIR. I hope I can contribute to the site too ... I do have an incredible and simple recipe for Massur dhal from my friend .

'Speak' soon

                         Colin  ( Lead guitarist with spoof band Bad News for the old folk 45+ )