This spiced lentil, nut and vegetable roast from Hari Ghotra is full of flavour and textures. It’s easy to make and a great dish for everyone — whether you eat meat or not.
If you don’t have paneer, that’s absolutely fine. You can just add a bit more carrot, or use another root vegetable like kohlrabi instead. Another option is to roughly mash some cooked beans — kidney beans or black beans work really well — and stir them in once the lentils are cooked.
You can also swap the cashews for chopped almonds if that’s what you have in the cupboard. It is a very forgiving recipe.
For a filling meal, serve it with cauliflower cheese and spiced potatoes, it will satisfy the heartiest of appetites.
Leftovers are just as good (if not better!). Try frying slices in a little butter for a tasty sandwich the next day. It’s also delicious cold, so it’s perfect for lunchboxes or a picnic.
SPICED LENTIL, NUT AND VEGETABLE ROAST
Serves 6
INGREDIENTS:
1 tbsp ghee or oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 dried chilli
1 large onion, finely chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped
3 cm ginger, finely chopped
200 g chestnut mushrooms, sliced
100 g paneer grated
1 large carrot, grated
1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
½ tsp turmeric
100 g red lentils
2 tomatoes, chopped
300 ml water
100 g walnuts and cashews, roughly chopped
100 g mature cheddar cheese, grated
Handful of fresh coriander, chopped
METHOD:
Preheat the oven to 180ºC or gas mark 4.
Line the base and sides of a 1.5-litre loaf tin with parchment paper.
Heat the ghee or oil in a large frying pan and add the cumin seeds and dried chilli until fragrant then add the onions and cook for about 5 mins until they start to soften.
Stir in the garlic and ginger and stir for a few minutes.
Add the sliced mushrooms and cook until they soften then stir in the paneer and grated carrot, adding a little more ghee or oil if mixture is too dry.
Cook everything for about 3 mins then stir in the chilli powder and turmeric and cook for just a minute more.
Add the tomatoes and cook for about 1 minute until they start to break down a little, then add the water
and season with salt.
Stir in the lentils and bring to the boil then leave to simmer over a very gentle heat until all the liquid has been absorbed and the mixture is fairly dry (about 10 minutes). Set aside to cool a little.
Roughly chop the nuts and stir in to the lentil and vegetable mixture with the cheese and coriander. Add and cooked beans at this stage if using.
Once mixed through, spoon the mixture into the prepared tin and press down into the tin.
Cover with foil and bake for 20 mins, then remove the foil and bake for a further 15-20 minutes until firm
when pressed gently.
Allow the loaf to cool in the tin for about 10 mins then turn out onto a serving board or a plate and slice into lovely thick pieces
