Tandoori salmon with spiced lentils and raita

By: Tori Haschka
From: Cut the Carbs!
Serves: 4

This combination has swiftly become a midweek staple for not only our family, but a few of the testers who helped out in the production of this book. Why? Because it’s aromatic but not too onerous and it easily halves or doubles, depending on how many are sitting at your table. But I think it’s mainly because eating these yellow-hued lentils and rosy pink salmon makes us feel good, and not just because of the links between turmeric and reduced rates of cancer and dementia. Here are some tips: if you have the time, try to marinate your salmon for 30 minutes to help bed down the flavours. I do this while I’m making the lentils and setting the table. And be sure to include the sides of raita, fresh tomato, and a cheek of lemon for squeezing – they really help to awaken the dish.

Ingredients

Quantity	Ingredient
4 fillets	salmon, skin on
1 tablespoon	olive oil
	sea salt

Marinade

Quantity	Ingredient
150g	greek yoghurt
1	garlic clove, peeled and grated
2cm	lump of ginger root, peeled and grated
1 teaspoon	ground cumin
1 teaspoon	ground turmeric
A pinch	sea salt
1/2 teaspoon	freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon	paprika
1/2-1 teaspoon	cayenne pepper

Spiced lentils

Quantity	Ingredient
1 tablespoon	ground turmeric
1 teaspoon	ground cumin
1 teaspoon	cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon	ground coriander
1 teaspoon	ground cinnamon
1 teaspoon	mustard seeds
1 tablespoon	olive oil
1	onion, peeled and diced
5cm	lump of ginger root, peeled and grated
2 x 400g	tins of brown lentils, rinsed

Raita

Quantity	Ingredient
1	small cucumber, grated and squeezed with your hands to remove excess moisture
small bunch	fresh mint, chopped
300g	greek yoghurt

To serve

Quantity	Ingredient
	lemon wedges
handful	baby spinach
handful	cherry tomatoes, chopped

Method

To make the marinade, combine all the ingredients together in a large bowl. Add the salmon fillets and coat the flesh in the marinade, leaving the skin clean. Cover and refrigerate for 30 minutes if you have time.
To make the spiced lentils, place all the spices in a frying pan over medium heat and toast for 1 minute, or until they smell nutty. Add the olive oil, onion and ginger and sauté for 3–5 minutes until the onion has softened, then tumble in the lentils and stir to warm them through.
To cook the salmon, take the fillets out of the marinade bowl and sprinkle the skin generously with salt to help stop it sticking to the pan. Heat the olive oil in a frying pan over medium heat (or use a barbecue) and place the fillets, skin side down, in the pan. Cook for 3 minutes, then flip the fillets over and cook them for 2–3 minutes on the other side – most of the exterior of the salmon should be opaque except for about 1 cm halfway down. Inside, it will be gently blushing at its centre, so if you prefer your salmon well done, cook it on the second side for an extra 2 minutes. Allow the salmon to rest for 2–3 minutes before serving.
To make the raita, combine the ingredients together.
Serve the salmon on the lentils with a cheek of lemon for squeezing over the top, the spinach, cherry tomatoes and the raita on the side.

Tags:: healthy; low carb

Tandoori salmon with spiced lentils and raita

Ingredients

Marinade

Spiced lentils

Raita

To serve

Method

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