Great British Food Christmas 2024

Recipes extracted from Dinner by Meera Sodha, published by Fig Tree. Photography by David Loftus 2 tbsp runny honey 2 x 400g tins of finely chopped tomatoes 150ml double cream 11/2 tbsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves) To serve: Naan A slab of butter (optional) 1. Preheat the oven to 200°C fan/220°C/gas 7 and line a deep baking tray or oven dish (roughly 20cm x 30cm) with non-stick baking paper. Brush the paper with a little oil. 2. Put the paneer cubes into a mixing bowl and add half the garlic, half the ginger and then the chilli powder, lemon juice, salt, turmeric and yoghurt. Mix well, tip on to the baking tray and bake for 25 minutes, or until the paneer is crisp and starting to blacken ever so slightly at the edges. 3. Take the baking tray out of the oven and very carefully remove the baking paper, leaving the paneer in the tray. Add 3 tablespoons of oil and the remaining ginger and garlic, stir to coat the paneer in the garlicky oil, then add the spices for the butter sauce, the salt and the honey. Stir to mix, then tip in the tomatoes, making sure the paneer is completely covered, and pop back in the oven for 30 minutes. 4. Remove the tray, stir through the cream, crumble over the kasoori methi, then stir again and pop back in the oven for 10 minutes. Remove the tray once more, stir in the butter now if you’d like, then serve straight from the tray with hot naan. 18-Carat Laksa The only thing I know of to bemore successful than this recipe in dispatching a whole bag of carrots is a horse. Roasted, the carrots’ natural sweetness counters the intensity of the aromatics and spices in this curried laksa and, along with the coconut milk, balance it out perfectly.On a separate note, it’s takenme ten years to finally write a recipe that uses a kilo of carrots for amain course. I’mso proud of it, I may just frame it and put it up next to my Grade 1 piano certificate in the downstairs bathroom. Serves: 4 Prepare: 20minutes Cook: 40minutes For the quick pickled bean sprouts: 100g bean sprouts 2 tbspwhite wine vinegar 2 tsp salt For the laksa: 1kg carrots, peeled 2 tbsp + 75ml rapeseed oil 1 brown onion, chopped 6 cloves of garlic, chopped 3cmx 3cmginger, chopped 2 lemongrass stalks, outer leaves and the top third discarded, the rest chopped 15 fresh curry leaves fine salt 4 tsp Kashmiri chillipowder 2 tspmild curry powder 1 tbsp caster sugar 2½ tbsp light soy sauce 1 x 400ml tin of coconut milk 240g (around 16) tofu puffs 320gmediumrice vermicelli noodles 20g freshThai basil, leaves picked, to serve 1. To make the pickle, pop the bean sprouts into a small heatproof bowl with the vinegar, salt and 150ml of freshly boiled water and leave to one side for 10 minutes, then drain. 2. Meanwhile, halve the carrots lengthways and chop into 3cm chunks. Place in a single layer on a large roasting tray or two, drizzle over 2 tablespoons of oil and sprinkle over ½ “Roasted, the carrots’ natural sweetness counters the intensity of the aromatics and spices in this curried laksa and, along with the coconut milk, balance it out perfectly” teaspoon of salt. Mix with your hands and roast for 40 minutes. 3. While the carrots are roasting, make the laksa paste. Place the 75ml of oil in a small blender along with the onion, garlic, ginger, lemongrass, curry leaves,1¼ teaspoons of salt, chilli powder, curry powder and sugar and blend to a smooth paste.Scrape every last bit of the paste into a large pot, then rinse out the blender and keep to one side – you’ll need to use it again. Heat the paste in a large saucepan or pot over a medium flame for 12 minutes, stirring regularly, then add the soy sauce, coconut milk, carrots, tofu puffs and 850ml of water. 4. Bring to a boil and simmer for 8 minutes, then take a heaped ladleful of the carrots with some of the liquid and pop it into the blender. Blitz until smooth, then add back to the pot and stir. Turn the heat off and pop a lid on, while you cook the noodles according to packet instructions. 5. To serve, distribute the noodles across four bowls, then ladle the laksa and carrots between the bowls. Place a small pile of pickled bean sprouts on top, along with a few Thai basil leaves. RECI PES | MEERA SODHA 101 greatbr i t i shfoodawards.com