Serves 4
Preparation time: 30 min
Rising time: 2 hours
Cooking time: 1 hour (curry); 18 min (naan bread)
NAAN BREAD
200 ml (¾ cup) milk
875 ml (3½ cups) flour
1 egg, whisked
2 ml (½ t) salt
10 ml (2 t) sugar
5 ml (1 t) baking powder
7,5 ml (½ T) dried yeast
30 ml (2 T) vegetable oil plus extra for brushing
60 ml (¼ c) plain yoghurt
CURRY
500 ml (2 c) brown lentils
500 ml (2 c) green split peas
125 g butter
1 onion, roughly chopped
15 ml (1 T) curry powder
1 tomato, roughly chopped
2 cm fresh ginger, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped
5 ml (1 t) ground coriander
salt and pepper
TO COMPLETE
5 ml (1 t) poppy seeds
1 Naan bread: Heat the milk slightly in a small pot. Remove from the heat.
2 Sift the flour into a bowl.
3 In a separate bowl, combine the egg, salt, sugar, baking powder, yeast, 30 ml (2 T) oil, yoghurt and 80 ml (⅓ cup) of the warm milk, mixing well. Pour the mixture over the flour and mix it in with your hands.
4 Add the remaining warm milk to the flour 15 ml (1 T) at a time and start kneading on a floured surface. Knead well for about 10 minutes or until the dough is elastic.
5 Form the dough into a ball, brush with extra oil, cover with a damp cloth and leave to rise at room temperature for 2 hours.
6 Curry: Boil the lentils and split peas in 2 litres of water for 30 minutes.
7 Heat the butter in a separate pot and fry the onion until golden. Add the curry powder and stir until mixed through. Stir in the tomato, ginger and garlic and heat for 5 minutes.
8 Drain the lentils, reserving the water. Add the lentils to the tomato mixture. Add the lentil cooking liquid and coriander. Stir well and cook for 20 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
9 To complete: Preheat the grill and brush 3 baking sheets lightly with oil.
10 Knead the bread dough again for a minute or two. Divide into 6 balls and roll out with a rolling pin. Pat with your hands until you have teardrop shapes, each about 28 cm long and 10 cm wide. Place two on each baking sheet, cover with a moistened cloth and leave for 15 minutes in a warm place.
11 Remove the cloth, brush the middle section of each naan bread with water, leaving a 1 cm margin. Sprinkle the moistened section with the poppy seeds. Put the trays, one at a time, 6-7 cm below the grill, and cook for about 3 minutes on each side or until lightly browned.
12 Serve the naan bread with the lentil curry.
- Hope Malau