Dhal Vadai: spiced Indian lentil balls

I have talked about my love of lentils in an earlier post. Like the Swedish are never too far away from a herring, dhal is never too far from my mind. Lentils are comfort food with the benefit of being incredibly good for you. The varieties lend themselves to a wide range of different dishes: Le Puy for a sausage casserole, beluga for a rabbit stew.When my wife asked me to make an Indian version of falafel (as a lower carb snack), I remembered eating something similar at the wonderful Ganapati canteen in Peckham.So here is my version of a very popular Indian street snack, perfect for an aperitif or even a small starter. For this dish, I have used split red lentils, but you could replace 50g with chana dhal, which is dried split chickpea.Feel free to adjust the amount of chilli to your taste. I like mine hot.Prep time: 15 minutesCooking time: 30 minsIngredients:200g split red lentils3cm cinnamon stick1 tbsp toasted coriander seed1 tbsp toasted cumin seed3 tbsp garam masala3 green birds-eye chillies1 tbsp peppercorns (fresh if possible)1 tbsp turmeric powder10-12 curry leaves (fresh if possible, use 6-8 if dried)Salt to seasonMethod:Rinse 100g of the lentils until the water runs clear. Add them to a pan with 350ml cold water, a pinch of salt, the turmeric, curry leaves, cinnamon and peppercorns.Bring to a boil and reduce to a simmer for about 20 minutes, or until soft.Spread out on a tray to dry a little and remove the cinnamon stick and as many of the curry leaves as you can.Meanwhile, grind the remaining lentils to a powder in a spice grinder and mix with the cooked lentils until you get a fairly firm and shapeable mix.Heat vegetable or rapeseed oil to 180c in a deep pan to about 1/3 of the way up. You can tell when it’s hot enough by dropping a little of the mix into the oil and it goes golden brown in about 30 seconds.Using a coffee scoop, shape the mix into balls and cook three or four at a time until golden brown. Remove and place on kitchen towel to dry as you make the rest.Serve with yoghurt mixed with two tablespoons of dried coriander leaves, a few fresh chopped mint leaves, wholegrain mustard and a pinch of chilli powder.

Meatballs with spiced tomato sauce and courgette 'spaghetti'

I love meatballs more than almost anything in the world. It's hard to beat a bowl of them served with spaghetti, but for this version I thought I'd make a healthier dish (with lower carbs) by substituting spaghetti for ribbons of courgette.This dish works really well - in fact, these are the best meatballs I've made - and we'll certainly be having it again soon.Makes more meatballs than you need for 2, or freeze the remainder once cooked.For the meatballs:1 pack of beef mince1 egg1 small jar of 'Sofrito' (or make your own by sweating a chopped carrot with chopped celery, chopped onion and salt)Large handful of dried breadcrumbs2 sprigs of chopped rosemarySeason well, mix well, form into balls and refrigerate for 30 mins.Fry in batches and set aside.For the sauce:Sauté an onion with some garlic in olive oil and as many hot chillies as you fancy. (I used four). Season, then add a tin of tomatoes and some oregano. Add a pinch of sugar and simmer for 20 mins or until thickened.Add the meatballs and heat through.For the courgette:Thinly slice the courgette lengthwise into spaghetti strips. Blanch for 20 secs in boiling water, then briefly sauté in chopped garlic.Season well and serve with meatballs and sauce, sprinkled with parmesan to taste.

Slow roast, spiced, crackled pork sandwiches

I cannot resist sharing this recipe. It's a dish based on my love of American food, which was stoked by many early mornings watching Man v. Food to keep myself awake as I cuddled my newborn son.Although the challenges were sometimes a bit grotesque in the programme, the places, ingredients, regional differences and cooking techniques have stuck in my mind.For this recipe, I don't have a smoker big enough to fit brisket in. Nor can I slow-cook a whole pig for 24 hours over hickory chips, much as I’d like to. So I've taken the best bits of my Geordie granny's 'pork with crackling' recipe, spiced it up a little and mixed it with some of my hazy Man v. Food memories – and made myself a very delicious sandwich. It's not something you can quickly knock up, but get everything ready the day before and you will have a week's worth of joy and a lifetime's worth of requests for your famous pork sandwich.Serves:                6Prep time:          20 minutes, plus overnight in the fridgeCooking time:    180 minutesIngredients1.5kg pork belly2 star anise1 5cm piece of cassia bark, or cinnamon1 tsp cloves1 tsp Szechuan peppercorns1 tbsp fennel seeds1 onion1 leek2 carrotsSaltMethod

1. Lightly toast the spices in a dry sauté pan and grind to a powder with a pinch of salt.
2. Score the skin of the pork and pour boiling water all over it. This will help dry it out.
3. Pat dry with kitchen towel and rub in the spice mix, then leave uncovered in the fridge overnight.
4. Heat the oven to 220°C.
5. Chop the onion, leek and carrots. Put them in a roasting tray, then put a rack over them and the pork on that.
6. Cook for 25 minutes, then turn the heat down to 130°C and cook for a further two and a half hours. Check the skin is crisp. If not, turn up the heat to 220°C and cook for a further 10-15 minutes.
7. Leave the pork to rest a while, then tear apart and serve in bread with spring onion, lettuce, mustard and smoky chilli sauce.