Red lentil daal and rice is one of Kitchen Manager Akkara’s favourites of the Community Kitchen’s rotating recipes.
On Tuesday mornings, she sautes onions, garlic and ginger in six 30-litre pots, creating a warm, hearty base. The kitchen fills with aroma when she adds a masala of cumin, coriander and turmeric. The latter turns the sauce a vibrant yellow-orange. Lentils go in. Add frozen carrots — fresh if the budget allows — and tomatoes. Season and serve with 23 kilograms of steamed white rice.
“We have good compliments,” Akkara said. “Someone said it was really good. The meal was really appreciated.”
Preparing 5,000 meals a week for clients of our humanitarian partners, many of whom are refugees, is no small feat.
Daal is quick, low cost, and full of flavour — fitting the bill for a nourishing meal that meets our time, budget and dietary constraints.
Checking all the boxes
In 2022, the Community Kitchen’s operations were smaller — we used to cook mornings only. Finding dishes that were simple to execute was essential. Professional chef and former volunteer Michael suggested a daal, and a Community Kitchen staple was born.
Now, the kitchen runs full time, seven days a week, 365 days a year. We have two hours of prep time for each lunch and dinner, and a tight budget of 30 cents per portion.
While Akkara used to open the fridges every morning and decide what to cook that day, she and Operations Manager Aline have standardized the recipes as our operations have scaled. This way, they know the dishes they’ll prepare ahead of time, making it easier to budget for ingredients.
The meals must also have the right consistency for volunteers to scoop into individual containers before they are transported to humanitarian aid centres for distribution.
Many of the asylum seekers that our meals go to eat halal. Plant-based proteins such as lentils are a culturally appropriate, nutrient-dense and economical solution.
“You don’t have to be top chef to cook lentils! Anyone is able to do it,” Akkara said.
Satisfying the tastebuds
Amid all the considerations for large-scale cooking, it’s easy to forget one of the most important. The food needs to taste good.
Even though recipe quantities are relatively fixed, seasoning remains more of an art than a science.
“You just have to taste your food when you cook,” said Akkara. “That’s the key to everything.”
Akkara and the kitchen team find room for creativity, meeting regularly to discuss recipe ideas. They’re never afraid to try something new, even if it doesn’t always work out.
Negative or positive, feedback from diners is always on Akkara’s mind. Luckily, she says the verdict on the daal is clear.
“They love it!”
Did you know? A donation of €10 funds the ingredients to make 30 meals. We depend on donations to keep feeding our city. You can make a monthly or one-time donation here.
