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Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes

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May 13, 2026 · 4:15 PM
Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes

Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes | Food | The Guardian

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Ravinder Bhogal’s carrot halva mini bundts. Photograph: Yuki Sugiura/The Guardian. Food stylist: Tamara Vos. Prop stylist: Rachel Vere. Food stylist assistant: Georgia Rudd.

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Ravinder Bhogal’s carrot halva mini bundts. Photograph: Yuki Sugiura/The Guardian. Food stylist: Tamara Vos. Prop stylist: Rachel Vere. Food stylist assistant: Georgia Rudd.

Food

Coconut dal, cheesy pickle toasties, carrot halva cakes: Ravinder Bhogal’s tastes of home – recipes

A three-course, south Asian feast: spicy coconut dal, a cheesy toastie with a knockout pickle, and a fudgy, spicy halva cake to finish

Ravinder Bhogal

Wed 13 May 2026 01.00 EDT

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P ublic institutions, from hospitals to museums, are the most international communities, both in the workforce and in those who visit. It’s something that became obvious to us when we were cooking our globally inspired meals for frontline workers at Kings College Hospital, London, during the pandemic. The menu at Café Jikoni, our new restaurant at the V&A East museum, speaks to the depth and breadth of east London’s diverse community, with dishes that cross borders, celebrate pluralism and taste like home – wherever that may be. After all, the best hospitality is all about making your guests feel at home.

Spicy coconut dal

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Ravinder Bhogal’s spicy coconut dal.

This dal wanders from India into Thailand; we make a curry paste from scratch at Café Jikoni, but using a good-quality one, such as Maeploy, is a smart shortcut.

Prep 10 min

Cook 35 min

Serves 4-6

**1****tbsp coconut oil

1 quill cinnamon

4 green cardamom pods

1 star anise**

3tbspred curry paste

**400ml coconut milk

300g red lentils**, washed and drained

250g carrots, chopped into thick rounds

30g soft light palm sugar, or to taste

30ml fish sauce, or to taste

1 heaped****tbsp tamarind extract, or to taste

Juice of****1 lime, to finish

Picked coriander leaves, to garnish

Put the oil in an extra-large saucepan on a medium-high heat, then fry the cinnamon, cardamom and star anise until fragrant.

Add the curry paste, stir-fry for three to four minutes, until toasted and beginning to deepen in colour, then tip in the coconut milk and 600ml water, and bring to a simmer.

Add the lentils and carrots, turn down the heat to low-medium, and simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender.

In the last few minutes of cooking, season to taste with palm sugar, fish sauce and tamarind for a balance of salty, sweet, and sour. Add the lime juice, then serve scattered with coriander.

Goan aubergine pickle, cheddar and chutney toasted sandwich

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Ravinder Bhogal’s Goan aubergine pickle, cheddar and chutney toastie.

Spiky aubergine pickle, a cooling, herbaceous chutney and melted cheese make up my perfect grilled cheese sandwich.

Prep 20 min

Cook 50 min

Makes 4 sandwiches

2****tbsp neutral oil, such as avocado

**¼****tsp fenugreek seeds

1****tsp fennel seeds

1****tsp cumin seeds

1 cinnamon stick**, broken up

12 fresh curry leaves

2 garlic cloves, peeled and finely sliced

3cm piece ginger, peeled and cut into fine matchsticks

2 green serrano chillies, slit open lengthways**1****tsp turmeric powder

¼ teaspoon chilli flakes

½****tsp chilli powder

1 large aubergine** (about 500g), cut into 2cm dice

**75ml white-wine vinegar

40g light soft brown sugar

Sea salt**, to taste

For the green chutney

**100g fresh coriander (including stalks)

20g fresh mint leaves**

20 cashews, soaked in hot water for 30 minutes and drained

1 green chilli, roughly chopped

1 small garlic clove, peeled and finely chopped

Juice of****1 lime

Sea salt, to taste

**1 heaped****tsp caster sugar

60ml ice-cold water**

For the sandwiches

125g butter, softened

8 thick slices****white sourdough

75g mature cheddar, grated

75g****mozzarella, grated

Put everything for the chutney in a blender and whizz to a fine puree.

For the pickle, put the oil in a wide saucepan on a medium heat, then scatter in the fenugreek, fennel, cumin and cinnamon, and let the seeds crackle. Add the curry leaves, then turn down the heat so the spices don’t catch and burn.

Add the garlic and ginger, stir-fry for a couple of minutes, until golden and fragrant, then drop in the chillies and cook until they lighten in colour. Sprinkle in the turmeric, chilli flakes and chilli powder, then add the aubergine and saute for 30 seconds, stirring to coat it in the spices. Pour in the vinegar, sugar and salt, bring to a boil, then turn down the heat, cover and leave to simmer over a low heat for half an hour, until the aubergine is tender. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Heat a sandwich toaster or frying pan. Butter both sides of the bread and put half the slices butter-side down on a sheet of baking paper. Generously smear each one with the chutney, a mixture of both cheeses and the aubergine pickle, then sandwich together with the remaining slices of bread. Cook in the toastie maker or hot pan until the cheese has melted and the bread is a deep golden brown.

Carrot halva mini bundts (pictured top)

Carrot halva is a sticky, spice-laced pudding that’s beloved across India, Pakistan, Bangladesh and the diaspora communities abroad. This cake is reminiscent of halva’s sticky fudginess.

Prep 10 min

Cook 50 min

Makes 12

175ml rapeseed oil, plus extra for greasing**200ml whole milk

300g finely grated carrots

100g ground jaggery**, or light brown sugar

**2 large eggs

175g plain flour

¾ tsp bicarbonate of soda/baking soda

1****tsp cinnamon

½****tsp ground cardamom

½****tsp ground ginger

SaltFinely grated zest of1 orange**, plus a little extra to garnishFinely grated zest of 1 lemon****75g chopped walnuts

For the cream cheese frosting

**115g cream cheese

240g icing sugar**, sifted

¼****tsp cardamom

½ lemon, zest finely grated, then juiced to get 1 tsp

****To garnish

12 walnuts

Finely grated zest of****1 orange

Oil 12 mini bundt tins, making sure you get right into the crevices; alternatively, oil a muffin tray.

Heat the milk in a pan and, when it comes to a simmer, add the carrots and cook on a low heat until the milk evaporates and the carrots are sticky and fudgy. Take off the heat and leave to cool.

Heat the oven to 180C (160C fan)/350F/gas 4.Combine the jaggery and oil in a stand mixer, then beat in the eggs one at a time, mixing until well combined. In a separate bowl, mix the flour, bicarb/baking soda, spices, a pinch of salt and the citrus zest, then fold this into the egg mixture, followed by the chopped walnuts and cooked carrots.

Divide the mix evenly between the bundt tins, then bake for 20-25 minutes, until a skewer inserted comes out clean. Remove and leave to cool on a rack.

To make the icing, beat the cream cheese until smooth, then add the icing sugar, cardamom, and the lemon zest and juice, and beat again until combined. Pipe or spread the icing over the top of each cake, then stud them with a walnut half and decorate with some orange zest.

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  • [Girlthatcooks](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/110548718) [1 hour ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174623057)   [Girlthatcooks](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/110548718) [1 hour ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174623057)      0     I tried to love carrot halva, I really did!

An Indian friend took me to Southall once and what a trip it was! (Hot puris with sweet-sour chickpeas won my heart instead…)

Carrot halva aside, this cake is quite similar to my carrot cake - only I use raw grated carrots (and parsnips/squash) and one small mashed up banana. Must try cardamom and ginger next time! And mini Bundt tins are something I now ‘need’… Reply

  • [Bluesiri](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/108376350) [2 hours ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174623001)   [Bluesiri](https://profile.theguardian.com/user/id/108376350) [2 hours ago](https://discussion.theguardian.com/comment-permalink/174623001)      1     When I was growing up Mom's brinjal pickle was the allover favourite. We ate it mainly with supper, rice curry and assorted vegetables, as it added a burst of flavour to the meal. I have been try to capture that pickle for years off and on. Last month I made a batch of brinjal pickle using the long Chinese eggplants, and that is pretty close. It's a bit heavy on the chillie, and so the next batch will get better.

Thanks for this reminder. You have two of my favourite recipes, the brinjal pickle and coriander chutney. The dal curry looks amazing and I plan to give it a try soon. Reply

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