The trick with the fragrant rice and lentils is to get flavour into the dish and smoked bacon gives great flavour. You could use left over ham or chicken.
This is a great one-pan dish. I always keep lentils in the cupboard as they are handy to have for lots of meals and soups. This is not a spicy dish. Turmeric is a mild spice so good for children.
There are nice green vegetables and mushrooms in it. You could add onions, courgettes or peppers if you like.
You could also add garlic into this recipe and fresh chilli instead of the chilli powder.
There is ginger in both recipes. If you leave the skin on ginger it tastes stronger. Here is a tip for ginger.
What we normally do in the restaurant is peel the ginger, wrap it in cling film, and freeze it. You can then grate the frozen ginger immediately.
The vegetable and chicken korma is much spicier. I am a great fan of Athlone-based OHCo. and there is a good Green Saffron korma made by Arun Kapil and team in Cork.
Chickpeas lack flavour but they do give nice texture. They bulk it up and give roughage. This korma is also good with turkey or pork.
Happy cooking,
Neven
Vegetable & chicken korma
Serves four
1 tbsp sunflower oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
2 garlic cloves, finely grated
2.5cm (1in) piece, root ginger, peeled and finely grated
1 tbsp mild curry powder or paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
225g (8oz) stir-fry chicken strips
350ml (12fl oz) jar korma sauce (or you could use 175ml/6fl oz) vegetable or chicken stock and a small tin (180g) of coconut milk if preferred)
4 tbsp water
100g (4oz) canned chickpeas, rinsed
10 cooked peeled baby potatoes, halved or quartered
2 firm vine-ripened tomatoes, each cut into 8 wedges
sea salt and freshly ground black pepper
fresh coriander, to garnish
Fragrant rice with lentils & bacon
Serves four
2 tbsp rapeseed oil
2 onions, halved and cut lengthways into slivers
100g rindless bacon rashers, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
1 tbsp freshly grated root ginger
100g/4oz mushrooms, sliced
1 tsp ground turmeric
1-2 tsp mild chilli powder
350g (12oz) cooked rice
400g (14oz) can green lentils, drained and rinsed
100g (4oz) baby spinach leaves
salt and freshly ground black pepper
What’s in season?
Mushrooms are a favourite vegetable to eat with your morning fry-up, but did you know they’re chock-full of essential B vitamins and minerals?
You could get adventurous and try shiitake mushrooms instead of the more standard button, chestnut or portobello. Shiitakes have a firm, meaty texture which makes them perfect for Asian-inspired recipes, like Neven’s fragrant rice.
If wild foraged mushrooms interest you, you’ll find blewits, scarlet elf cups, oysters and winter chanterelles at this time of year, with delicious morels due to arrive in the next few weeks. You can order exotic Irish-grown mushrooms online from fancyfungi.ie or find wild Ballyhoura Mountain Mushrooms at The Milk Market in Limerick or Mahon Point Farmers Market in Cork.