In the UK, curry and lager go together like two peas in a pod. This age old marriage is a perfect balance of naughty but nice. While this recipe for curried soup and lager bread is slightly off the grain, the flavours are still prominent and suit more of a lunchtime meal rather than the more typical curry after the pub on a Saturday night.
Lager bread
Ingredients
250g strong white flour
250g wholemeal flour
1 sachet of instant yeast (usually about 7g)
7g salt
1tsp sugar
330ml lager (I used Carling spiced orange – but other lager would be fine as well)
Olive oil
Method
Combine all the dry ingredients (making sure the salt and yeast aren’t touching) and slowly add the lager and a large glug of olive oil. Leave for five minutes before kneading on an oiled surface for about 8 minutes, then leave again for about 10 minutes.
Then shape the mixture into the shape you want (I did mine in bread rolls) and cover loosely in clingfilm and leave to rest until the mixture has doubled. This took about two hours for me – but it depends on room temperature.
Put the bread into an oven at about 220c and bake for 15 minutes, before turning it down to 200 for another 10 minutes (or until brown) – this obviously depends on the size of your rolls.
Leave on a wire rack to cool down.
Curried soup (serves 2)
Ingredients
1 white onion (finely diced)
2 sticks of celery (finely diced)
Half a cauliflower head (into small florets)
Half a broccoli head (into small florets)
100g red split lentils
10g ginger (minced)
3 cloves of garlic (minced)
2 red chillies (sliced)
1tsp cumin
1tsp turmeric
1 vegetable stock cube
Olive oil
Lemon juice (to serve)
Method
Fry the onion and celery in oil in a deep sided pan before adding the garlic, ginger, chillies, cumin and turmeric for about three minutes. Add the rest of the vegetables and fry for a further five minutes before adding about a pint and a half of water, stock cube and lentils. Leave for about 15 minutes (or until the lentils are cooked)
When ready, pop into bowls and squeeze some lemon juice over the top.
The everyday vegetarian UK 