Lamb shish kebab, egg curry, dahl and pilau rice,

National Curry week: Day 4

Nick at Melling's Butchers in Todmorden's indoor market has all sorts of goodies to save you a bit of time, and help spice up your tea - including these great lamb shish kebabs.  You can also pick up most of the other ingredients from The Mediterranean Pantry, and other stalls indoors and veg outside.

There may be a fair old list of ingredients, but it's actually very easy.

Olive oil
Ghee
Onions
Garlic
Ginger
Tin tomatoes
Eggs

Basmati rice
Cardamon pods
Turmeric
Curry leaves
Fennel seeds
Chilli flakes
Mustard seeds
Chilli

1.  Drizzle the shish kebabs with olive oil and stick them in a medium-hot oven.  They'll be ready in about 30 minutes.
2,  Chop onion and fry in 2 lots of ghee - 1 for the rice, one for the egg curry.
3.  Boil lentils with a crushed clove of garlic.
4.  Add the rice to the onions, add cardamon pods, stir and then add water.  Boil, slam on lid and turn the heat down - let it cook while everything else finishes.
5.  To the other onions add crushed garlic and grated ginger - fennel and cumin seeds, a little chilli and some turmeric.  Stir around - then add a tin of chopped tomatoes and a splash of water.  Cook down gently.
6.  Boil the eggs for 10 minutes.  Keep an eye on the sauce, turn off the heat/add water if it gets too thick - if you like it really spicy you may wish to add garam masala.
7.  When the eggs are cooked, peel them - put the sauce on top.
8.  Make the tarka for the dhal - in olive oil quickly fry whole spices (coriander, fennel seeds, cumin seeds, mustard seeds,  slit chilli and curry leaves).  Pour over the cooked lentils.
9.  Serve, scoff.