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Inspired by Sri Lankan curries

Since we can't travel, I gave myself a challenge and cooked a Sri Lankan meal, based on spices I brought back from a trip there and others we've made at home. Here is one of my favorite dishes, Sri Lankan dahl.

First of all, spices.  You may or may not have every one of the ingredients they use in Ceylan, but here are a few essentials that you could probably find in your grocery store.  I didn't have all the ingredients so just made the dahl with green lentils instead of red ones (a sin, gasp!) but the taste was wonderful anyway, because, well, we make do with cupboard ingredients nowadays (pandemic oblige).

So depending on the number of people eating, measure 1 cup of lentils per person x 2 cups of water / per cup.  Boil lentils with chopped onion and tumeric about 20-25 minutes or until the lentils have softened. In a separate pan, fry garlic and ginger together.  Once gently browned, add the strained lentils.  Add coconut milk + spices. That’s it.  Here's the recipe : 

3 cups lentils, rinse first, boil and soften
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 teaspoon of tumeric
1/2 teaspoon of seasalt
Cooking oil for frying

3 cloves of garlic
3 tablespoons of grated ginger
1/2 cup of coconut milk + 1/2 cup soy milk to thin out (optional)
Curry spice or half a teaspoon of each: turmeric, mustard seed, cumin, coriander, cardamon, fennel, curry leaves, chili flakes, peppercorn.

The other dishes in my pic : fish curry, fry in a pan a cinnamon stick, green onion leaves, curry leaves, garlic, chopped tomatoes, ghee and spices above, then add coconut milk and your favorite white fish. I used pomegranate fillet but you can use any firm white fish.  Just marinate the fish first in lime juice, turmeric and chili powder.  And decorate with red bell peppers.

And the last dish is an eggplant curry, same base of curry spices, just add a jar of tomato sauce, or like I did, a homemade tomato-garlic-onion paste I use as a base for lot of things (and my fave breakfast toast).

I added veggies we had at home like yellow bell peppers and baked yam for color. Enjoy, dear friends !

Et maintenant en français :

Comme nous ne pouvons pas voyager, je me suis lancé un défi et cuisiné un repas sri-lankais, à base d'épices que j'ai ramenées d'un voyage là-bas et d'autres que nous avons préparées à la maison. Voici l'un de mes plats préférés, le dahl sri lankais.

Tout d'abord, les épices. Vous pouvez avoir ou non chacun des ingrédients qu'ils utilisent à Ceylan, mais voici quelques ingrédients essentiels que vous pourriez probablement trouver dans votre épicerie. Je n'avais pas tous les ingrédients alors j'ai juste fait le dahl avec des lentilles vertes au lieu de rouges (quel pêché!). Mais le goût était quand même merveilleux, car, eh bien, nous nous contentons d'ingrédients de placard (pandémie oblige).

Donc, selon le nombre de personnes, mesurez 1 tasse de lentilles par personne x 2 tasses d'eau / par tasse. Faire bouillir les lentilles avec l'oignon haché et le curcuma environ 20-25 minutes ou jusqu'à ce que les lentilles aient ramolli. Dans une poêle, faites revenir l'ail et le gingembre ensemble. Une fois légèrement dorées, ajoutez les lentilles. Ajouter le lait de coco + les épices. C'est tout. Voici la recette pour 3-4 personnes :

3 tasses de lentilles, rincer d'abord, faire bouillir et ramollir
1 oignon, haché finement
1/2 cuillère à café de curcuma
1/2 cuillère à café de sel marin
Huile de cuisson pour la friture

3 gousses d'ail
3 cuillères à soupe de gingembre râpé
1/2 tasse de lait de coco + 1/2 tasse de lait de soja pour éclaircir (facultatif)
Du curry ou si vous faites vous même, une demi-cuillère à café de chacune: curcuma, graines de moutarde, cumin, coriandre, cardamome, fenouil, feuilles de curry, flocons de piment, poivre.

Les autres plats sur ma photo: du poisson au curry. Faites revenir dans une poêle un bâton de cannelle, des feuilles d'oignon vert, des feuilles de curry, de l'ail, des tomates hachées, du ghee et des épices dessus, puis ajoutez le lait de coco et votre poisson blanc préféré. J'ai utilisé du filet de grenadier mais vous pouvez utiliser n'importe quel poisson blanc ferme. Il suffit de faire mariner le poisson d'abord dans le jus de cirton vert, le curcuma et la poudre de chili. Et décorer avec des poivrons rouges.

Et le dernier plat est un curry d'aubergine, même base d'épices au curry, il suffit d'ajouter un pot de sauce tomate, ou comme je l'ai fait, une pâte maison tomate-ail-oignon que j'utilise comme base pour beaucoup de choses (et mon petit-déjeuner préféré avec du pain grillé).

J'ai ajouté des légumes que nous avions à la maison comme des poivrons jaunes et de la patate douce cuite au four pour la couleur. Amusez-vous bien, chers amis!


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