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Not only is it National Curry Week but also Monday and the day of the week that even non vegetarians are encouraged to go meat free for the day. To celebrate this we are bringing you a super traditional Sindhi recipe much loved by my anti-spinach ex-flatmate and still cooked by my beloved aunt in India every Thursday. Thursday is Sai Bhaji day. In Sindhi, Sai means green and bhaji means curry.

I cooked this at the weekend and everybody loved it. The potatoes and yoghurt raita are not mandatory; I’ve given you a recipe for both in case you decide to make it all. It takes under an hour to cook everything, but you can have the curry simply with plain Basmati rice if you’re in a hurry. The pulao rice is super fragrant and goes very well with the spinach.

This recipe will serve 4 people:

Spinach and lentil curry

350g frozen spinach

3 medium tomatoes on the vine finely chopped

1 onion

1 garlic clove

2 cm ginger

1 green chilli

2 handfuls of yellow split peas or chana daal soaked over night

1 tsp. turmeric

1 tsp. coriander powder

Salt to taste

Olive oil

Pulao rice

250 g Basmati rice soaked in water for 30 minutes

1 small onion

2 bay leaves

4 whole black peppers

1 tsp. garam masala

1 tsp. biryani masala or coriander powder

1 or 2 green chillies

1cm ginger

Salt to taste

To make the spinach:

1. Chop the garlic and fry in a little oil or fry light if you want a healthier version until golden brown
2. Add the chopped onions and again fry until golden brown
3. Add the rest of the ingredients including the tomatoes and the spices and stir well
4. If you have a pressure cooker, cover the pan and cook for 10 minutes
5. If you don’t have a pressure cooker, then cook through until the lentils are soft and mushy
6. Once cooked, mash some of the lentils with the back of a ladle and serve with plain or pulao rice

To make the pulao rice:

1. Heat a little splash of olive oil or fry light in a pot, and rinse the rice through a couple of times
2. Add the bay leaves and whole peppercorns to the pot for about a minute
3. Add the onions and fry until golden
4. Add the rice to the pan with the spices and stir gently with a spatula so that you don’t break the grains
5. Add about 300 ml of water and bring to the boil
6. When you have a little water left in the pot cover and simmer for about 10 minutes
7. Serve the pulao rice with the spinach and lentil curry

Sides

The curry and rice can be served with potatoes and a yoghurt raita; both very simple to cook.

 For the potatoes you will need:

2 large potatoes

1 tsp. of chilli powder

½ tsp. turmeric powder

1 tsp. mango powder (amchoor)

Salt to taste

For the raita you will need:

500g fat free yoghurt

1 tsp. cumin powder

1 cucumber finely chopped or grated

Salt and black pepper

To make the potatoes:

1. Chop the potatoes into small cubes and fry in a non-stick frying pan in a little olive oil or fry light until crispy on the outside and soft on the inside
2. Add the turmeric and salt and stir
3. Turn the heat down and cover until the potatoes are cooked through
4. Turn off the heat and add the spices
5. Stir lightly so you don’t break the potatoes and you’re ready to go!

To make the raita:

1. Mix the spices with the yoghurt first – make sure you’re happy with the taste and consistency
2. Add the cucumber and stir
3. Sprinkle a handful of fresh coriander to for extra taste