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Outdoor Recipes: Curry Night Al Fresco

Outdoor Recipes: Curry Night Al Fresco

Three 5-ish ingredient Indian recipes you can cook outdoors (or indoors) without much fuss

Monica Shaw's avatar
Monica Shaw
Apr 25, 2023
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Eat Sleep Wild
Outdoor Recipes: Curry Night Al Fresco
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Van life recipes - not just for the van, but for any equipped kitchen, indoor or out!

Indian night has become a van life staple, and it’s not too hard to create an awesome feast. Our regular menu consist of red lentil dal, cardamom rice, and shaved brussel sprouts, all of which can be made with five ingredients or less (not counting salt!).

Scroll down for the recipes!

The setup. Parked up with a view of Ben Cruachan!

A few tips

  • Pre-make the red lentils and bring in a ready-to-go pot. I love the MSR Stowaway Pot for this as it comes with a lid that you can securely attach with a hinged lock. You may also want to pre-prep and measure ingredients.

  • Riff the ingredients as you go. I’ve included some exact measures and riffed measures to encourage riffing!

  • You’ll need two pots and a skillet for this, plus a knife and chopping board. A one-pot meal this is not, but it’s worth the effort!

  • As always, this isn’t just for the outdoors. This would be equally delicious cooked in a kitchen. Cooking outdoors over fire is a bonus!

  • The red lentil dal and cardamom rice can also be dehydrated for wild camping / backpacking meals. (Find more dehydrator recipes on the website.)

Optional add-ons to make it even more special:

  • Naan, available in most Scotland shops - look out for Clay Oven Baker naans which I’ve seen in numerous Scotland shops, are made by a small business in Leicester, and look and taste pretty darn close to restaurant naan!

  • Chutneys and Pickles - our favourites are Geeta’s mango chutney and lime pickle.

  • Yoghurt (or better still, raita)

  • Fresh sliced chillies - green or red - can be added to any of the recipes during or after cooking for extra kick.

Read on for the recipes…

Don’t forget the drink pairing - Lucky recommends a dry Provencal rosé!

Cardamom Rice

Inspired by Rice Cooker Vegan Recipes, a £4.99 self published book of recipes that are often ludicrously simple, but sometimes that’s what you need!

Ingredients

  • Rice - 1 cup

  • Cinnamon Stick - 1 stick

  • Cardamom - 3 pods

  • Salt - a pinch

Instructions

  1. Add all ingredients to a pot with 1 1/2 cups of water.

  2. Cover with a lid, then simmer for about 15 minutes, until all of the water is absorbed. Serve with dal and veggies (see recipes below).

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