Spice Up Your New Year

The great thing about curry is that it has universal appeal, no matter how many guests you have, it's likely that the majority will be chuffed to bits with a curry. But if you’re offering up different varieties, you don’t want to be faffing in the kitchen until midnight, so wherever possible, sort most of the meal in advance so you can buy time to sit back, relax and welcome in the new year. By “sort”, that can mean make it yourself, leave it to us, or do a bit of both.

If you’d like some help from us, then check out our Indian Meals. Our curries are handmade by the chefs in our kitchens, so all you have to do is heat them up in yours. No mess to be clearing up when you want to be having fun. If you don’t know where to begin, we’ve got lots of Great Taste Award winners to try: Butter Chicken Curry; Chicken Korma, Lamb Dupiaza, Keralan Prawn & Mango Curry. Don’t forget to include some veggie / vegan options like our Roasted Vegetable and Chickpea Curry or our Vegetable Korma.

Whatever you do, don’t forget the sides. These can be served with the main meal, or as nibbles with drinks to line tummies and soak up a bit of the booze. Check out our Indian Side Dishes for inspo.

If you want to make some of the meal yourself, a dhal is a great dish to whip up. Lentils are traditionally served at New Year, as they’re round like coins so supposedly bring wealth and good fortune. They're also a symbol of abundance, as they increase so much in size when cooked. Here’s a lovely one of Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall’s recipes from River Cottage Every Day you could try. Very easy, and of course very delicious:

Ingredients:

Serves 4

• 250g red lentils

• 1 tsp ground turmeric

• ¾ tsp fine sea salt

• 2 tbsp sunflower oil

• 1 tsp cumin seeds

• 1 onion, halved and thinly sliced

• Optional: a small bunch of parsley or coriander, or a couple of sprigs of mint, roughly chopped.

Method:

Put the lentils in a pan with 800ml cold water and bring to the boil.

Skim off any scum, then stir in the turmeric and salt.

Lower the heat and simmer, uncovered, for about 15 mins, stirring vigorously every now and then, until the lentils have broken down completely and you have a purée – the consistency of a thick soup. Keep warm in the pan.

When the dhal is just about done, heat the sunflower oil in a frying pan over a medium heat. Add the cumin seeds and fry for a couple of minutes until browned. Add the onion and fry for 5–10 minutes until golden brown.

Tip the mixture on to the hot lentils in the pan, cover and leave for 5 mins, then stir in the onions and cumin. Season to taste.