Curry and thank you

Well, this little curry (totally homemade prawn Dhansak) really hits the spot: tasty, spicy and healthy too. It's been a regular on mine and the Mister's dinner menu for some years now, but has always been cooked by him.



Until now, that is...
So I asked him for the recipe and I will share the version in the photo which I cooked earlier.
Advance warning: all measurements and timings are estimated by the Mister, all measurements can be varied according to taste/ what's in the cupboard/ how many glasses of wine you've had beforehand and so, the curry is different every time- we've never had a bad one yet!

Serves 2 with plenty sauce. Easily up-scaled for more peeps.
You need:
Medium Onion
A few cloves of garlic,
Man-sized handful of red lentils and yellow lentils
Tsp each turmeric, coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fenugreek powder, black mustard seeds,
Chillies (whatever rocks your boat- we use a mix of dried and frozen ones we grew ourselves)
10 black peppercorns,
Tsp fresh ginger or half tsp ground
1 lemon
Prawns or chicken (however much you fancy, fresh or ready-cooked
Hand-blender and pestle and mortar/ small mixer/ rolling pin

Method:
First, make the dhal:
Fry onion until softened. Add couple cloves garlic and turmeric and fry briefly. Add lentils, salt and pepper and about a pint of water. Allow to cook for 20 mins or so, until lentils are soft. Blend. (if your mix is a bit watery, add more red lentils and cook for another 10 mins or so. If too thick, add water).

Meanwhile, bash up the spices to make a paste:
Coriander seeds, cumin seeds, chilli (to taste- you can always add more later), black peppercorns, 4 cloves garlic (or to taste) fenugreek, black mustard seeds, ginger, lemon zest. (if you are using fresh chicken, then marinade it in this paste while you wait for the dhal to cook)

Once your dhal is cooked and blended, add the spice paste (if you haven't marinated with it) Cook for a few mins.
Add fresh chicken and marinade and cook for 20 mins or
Add fresh prawns and cook for 3-4 mins or
Use ready cooked prawns or chicken and heat through.
Add juice of a lemon.
Check seasoning (this curry needs a fair sprinkling of salt, I find)

Serve with rice and a sprinkling of fresh coriander.

Enjoy. And feel smug that this is tasty and good for you too!
Xx

P.s. My thank you's are for the lovely bloggy awards I have been given recently. Seriously, thank you.
I would love to add the pics, but my laptop is now dead and my iPad just will not (cannot?) grab icons to add to my sidebar. (if anyone knows a way around this, I would love to know)
Much love xx