Here's what we have all been waiting for - the Johnson family recipes

BLACK DAL MAKHANI from Meera Sodha:

 Taken from a 2014 Independent on Sunday supplement – 20 best slow cook recipes

Serves 8.

Urad or Urid Dal ( black Lentils) 400g : Unsalted  Butter 60g plus 30g to finish; 2 large onions finely sliced.  10 cloves of garlic crushed;  6 tablespoons of tomato puree ;  2 teaspoons of salt ; 1 teaspoon of chilli powder ( or to your taste):  Whole  milk 400 ml. :  Grated Ginger quite a lot ( didn’t write the instructions down properly)

TRS ( Asia’s finest foods )from Southall sell urid dal at ASDA and probably Indian food shops in 500 g bags, They are not easy to find in Asda. The instructions on the back are in English but none of the product names are. So if you find Urid Dal chiika, that means that half of the lentils still have their skins on and half don’t.  I think that black dal with the skins on are better but the batch for July 4^th was urid dal chilka because that’s all I could get.

“ It takes 142 minutes and 47 stirs to make. Give it time and it will reward you handsomely. Full of earthy, smoky flavours, rich, deep tomato and warm buttery notes. Can be made a day in advance- ( or longer in the freezer)

Rinse in a sieve, in a couple of changes of cold water, until the water runs clear, then drain and put into a deep pan. The volume will double. Cover with just boiled water and leave for 24 hours. Drain and cover with more water. Boil for 45 minutes, removing any scum. Meanwhile in a separate pan, put 60 g of butter on medium heat. When it begins to foam, add onions and cook for 15 minutes, then add the ginger and garlic. Fry for another 5 minutes. Don’t skim on time, without burning it.

Add the tomato puree, salt and chilli powder – stir well, remove from heat and set aside.

Once boiled, dal should be soft enough to crush. When done, keep enough water to cover and drain the rest off. Add the onion and tomato mixture and the milk. Bring to the boil and heat down to simmer. Stir now and then for 1 and a half hours. If the sauce starts to run low, top up with water/ milk mixture ( semi skimmed!)

The sauce starts to turn darker, richer, creamier. If not, after 90 mins, cook it some more. Taste adjust the salt and chilli if necessary and add the remaining butter. Serve with rice or naans. The first time, we added crispy bacon and curly kale.”

 

 

 

 

TUNISIAN ORANGE CAKE – from Darina Allen’s “Ballymaloe Cookery Course” book, page 449

“Sophie Gregson introduced us to this cake on her course here at the school. It is a real goodie and keeps not just for days but for weeks.

CAKE :  50g ( 2oz) slightly stale white breadcrumbs;  200g ( 7oz) caster sugar;  100g ( 3.5 oz) ground almonds;  1.5 level teaspoons baking powder; 200ml ( 7fl oz sunflower oil ) 4 organic eggs;  zest of 1 large unwaxed orange, finely grated;  zest of half an unwaxed lemon, finely grated.

CITRUS SYRUP:  juice of 1 unwaxed orange, juice of half an unwaxed lemon; 75g ( 3 oz) sugar,             2 cloves; 1 cinnamon stick,

Cream, Greek  yoghurt or crème fraiche

Round tin, 20cm ( 8”) diameter, 5cm ( 2 “) deep.

Line the base of the tin with a round of greaseproof paper. Grease and flour the tin.

Mix the breadcrumbs with the sugar, almonds and baking powder. Whisk the oil with the eggs, pour into the dry ingredients and mix well.

Add the orange and lemon zest. Pour the mixture into the prepared tin. Put into a cold oven and turn on with the heat set to 180 C / 350 F/ gas 4.

Bake for 45 – 60 minutes or until the cake is golden brown. A skewer, inserted into the centre should come out clean. Allow to cool for 5 minutes before turning out onto a plate.

Meanwhile, make the citrus syrup. Put all the ingredients into a stainless steel saucepan and bring gently to the boil, stirring until the sugar has dissolved completely. Simmer for 3 minutes.  While the cake is still warm, pierce it with a skewer. Spoon the hot syrup over the cake. Leave it to cool. Spoon excess syrup back over the cake every now and then until it is all soaked up.

One can remove the cloves and cinnamon stick but we like to leave them on top of the cake. Serve with crème fraiche or thick Greek yoghurt. “