Photo Recipe - Indian Tarka Dhal

Tarka Dhal is one of the best things in life. A warm comforting bowl of this will cheer you up no end after a long day at work and make you full of cheer, even though it is dark before you come home. It is also a very good one pot dish you can make on Sunday and eat for a few days in the week with a few veggies or a grilled piece of fish or meat to give you the necessary vitamins and minerals.

1. Take 1 large white onion and cut it up roughly. Cut up 2 medium sized tomatoes, skin on, and add both of these to a around a litre of cold tap water.





2. Take some yellow split peas. I find the ones from Sainsbury's ironically better than the ones from the Asian supermarkets, since they tend to melt down better into a nice soupy mush which is how I personally like it. Rinse the split peas in running cold tap water (like rice). Add to the pan with the onion and tomato.




3. Add 1 teaspoon of ground chilli power and 2 teaspoons of ground turmeric powder.




4. Add a couple of small fresh green chillis (spit down the centre) if you like chilli heat.

5. Boil on a medium to high heat for about 40 minutes or until the split peas are soft. You may need to add more hot water if it runs dry. You should see the edges start to become translucent after about 15 to 20 minutes, which means you are about half way there. Be sure not to add salt during the cooking process as it can make the peas go hard and not melt down which is what we are aiming for here.

5. Prepare your Tarka. Take a separate small saucepan and add around 0.5cm deep of vegetable oil. Add 1 chopped white onion and cook over a low/medium heat until the onions are dark and caramelised but obviously avoid burning. When the onions are nearly done, add 5 cloves of chopped garlic and a handful of fresh curry leaves (these can be frozen and keep reasonably well in the freezer. I buy mine from an Asian supermarket). I also add a teaspoon of mustard seeds and wait until they pop in the hot oil.

6. Sometimes the peas need a bit of a helping hand and I whizz them with a hand blender for a few seconds, making sure I do not liquidise all of the peas.




7. Throw in the Tarka when still hot (it will sizzle) and then stir it in



8. Season.

9. Serve over boiled white basmati rice, adding a dollop of yogurt on the top if your care.

Ramen Seto

It was Saturday afternoon and after a morning fascinating (and salivating) over Ramen Culture whilst reading the brilliant website Rameniac I was on the hunt for a steaming bowl in London Town. But where to go?

I decided on lunch at Ramen Seto, a small cafe on central Kingly St, just off Carnaby. Perfect for a welcome rest and refuel after a shop in nearby Liberty. The downstairs is small, with only about 8 tables or so which were all full. We were ushered upstairs which was quiet and, to be honest, a welcome break from the madness of Oxford Street.

The menu is quite varied with a variety of Sushi and Sashimi and hot and cold appetisers to start. There is then a choice of about 10 different types of ramen but with the noticeable absence of one of my favourites, Tonkotsu. Those who do not fancy ramen (?) can opt for the usual Teriyaki dishes, fried noodles or Japanese curries.



The room is a tad drab and could do with a lick of paint but we bashed on anyways. We were here for ramen. And tasty Ramen we got.

To start we got 6 pork and vegetable gyoza. I am not sure where I would get better in London. Really delicious. One side was soft and slippery with a beautiful, delicate crimping on the edge, whilst the other side was golden and crispy. On biting into the tasty looking morsels, we were hit with a juicy, porky goodness that keeps you wanting more. I felt you didn't really need the accompanying soy sauce as the dumplings were relatively salty themselves.



We also got a portion of the "rice ball with pickled plum". This was a bit underwhelming. I was hoping for a gooey, sour plum centre but actually the ball is pretty much plain rice all the way through. I found I needed to eat this with the assorted Japanese pickles to enjoy it.

Now for Ramen. We got one order of the Miso Ramen, which was topped with sliced pork, bamboo shoot, bean sprouts and half a boiled egg. It was pretty good sized portion and the flavour of the broth was above average.

We also got an order of the Negi Chicken Ramen which was much better. The clear broth was deep with roast chicken flavour and was full and lasting in the mouth. It was served with a large handful of spring onion and half a boiled egg. The roast chicken was delicious. Some bits were crispy, salty and lean, whilst others were juicy and fatty. At first I was a little hesitant of the fattiness of some of the meat, but as I started to eat it, I found the fat was packed with flavour and kept the chicken moist and moreish. I proceeded to devour the rest of the bowl. Recommended dish.

We decided to skip dessert, as I normally do in Asian restaurants.

Ramen Seto is better than the average Ramen cafe and worth traveling for. The service is reasonable, as long as you make the necessary adjustment to expectations when dining in an Asian cafe. For me, these little treats make a day of shopping in central London on Saturday possible. We are grateful. Our total bill was £25.

Monster Munch Rating: 80%

Ramen Seto
19 Kingly Street
London
W1B 5PY

0207 434 0309

Gourmet San – Northern Chinese Restaurant

Situated on the Bethnal Green road, you can recognise Gourmet San by the queues of Shoreditch foodies waiting in line for a table to open up. Expect to wait a good 20 minutes in the small cramped room to be seated. We found our reservation didn’t really make a difference and had to wait in line with everyone else.

The atmosphere is buzzy and young and everyone is excitedly asking tables next to them what dishes they are eating so that they can get a slice of the action themselves. There is an air of discovery here and dishes are fresh and new to all but those well versed in regional Chinese cuisine.

The menu is extensive with some 250 items to muster over. Make sure you get a selection of goodies from the authentic charcoal BBQ. We tried lamb skewers which were salty, spicy and very addictive. Perfect with bottles of Tsing Tao and a bargain at £1 each. Also from the BBQ, squid with a fermented chilli bean marinade, king prawn and quail (well spiced but a little over cooked).

To follow we had broccoli with scallops. The scallops were perfectly moist inside and the broccoli crisp and al dente just as it should be. The dish was light and delicious and makes a good accompaniment to many of the other fiercely spicy dishes on the menu.




We tried the “shredded pork with garlic in a spicy sauce”. The dish was sweet and sour and I enjoyed the silky crunch of the wood ear mushrooms but it lacked the garlic and chilli punch it promised which I found a bit disappointing.



As a side dish we ordered dry fried French beans and picked vegetables. I liked the overall smoky taste this dish had which I suspect came from a well seasoned wok and ultra high heat. I couldn’t really detect the pickled vegetables but instead enjoyed the taste of the dried chilli and soy.



The service is quick and efficient. Note that they only take cash, we had to make an embarrassing dash to a nearby cash machine. I will be back to sample some of the other dishes that I was eying up on other tables such as deep fried pork and beef in chilli oil. Gourmet San is a solid restaurant serving authentic northern Chinese fare. It can be unpleasantly crowded at times but it is a price worth paying and worth travelling for.

Monster Munch Rating: 72%

Tas Firin Ocakbasi - top quality Turkish Kebabs

Quite unusually I stumbled into this place without doing any of the usual googling and blog checking online that I normally do before I go and eat somewhere new. Myself and my girlfriend were actually on route to Gourmet San Sichuan restaurant on the Bethnal Green Road (highly recommended) but were disappointed when we found out it was closed for lunch. Walking back towards Shoreditch we saw this small restaurant on the corner of Bethnal Green Road and Turin St. What made me go in was the sight of the chef sitting in front of an open charcoal grill, slowly grilling juicy kebabs. This place had to be good. And it was.

The menu is pretty simple, centring around traditional Turkish kebabs and Pide (a pizza like dish). I love the fact you can see the chef grilling the kebabs right in front of you and making the homemade breads in the background.

We started with humous and Turkish flat bread. The bread here is much better than the usual accompanying pitta. It is thicker and softer and soaks up the houmus better. We also had roasted onions in turnip juice which was good with pickled vinegariness and a moorish charred flavour.

I wanted to try all the kebabs (im greedy like that) so I opted for the mixed kekab. This was a selection of chicken shish (juicy), lamb shish (nicely spiced and seasoned) and a minced lamb kebab (meaty and delicious). It was served with rice and some more of the home made bread.

My girlfriend had a minced chicken kebab served with lashings of yogurt. There was a good amount of spice in the chicken so the yogurt didn’t wash away its flavour but instead added a contrasting acidity and tang.

Our guest ordered one of the pide’s cooked in the wood fired oven. I didn’t try this but disappointingly he said that it lacked seasoning. It did look a bit dry to me. I would suggest sticking to the kebabs.

Our meal came with a good selection of salads, diced tomatoes, shredded carrot and cabbage. I washed the meal down with a hot and salty turnip juice and and Efes beer.

Tas Firin serves fantastic kebabs with friendly and efficient service. Skip the local kebab van and venture down the Bethnal green road. A fresh juicy and char grilled treat awaits you.

Monster Munch Rating: 85%