Mohinga

Ingredients

• rice flour 2 tbsp
• garlic 6 cloves, peeled
• ginger thumb-sized piece, peeled
• lemongrass stalks 3
• vegetable, sunflower or peanut oil 6 tbsp
• onions 3 medium, thinly sliced
• paprika 1 tbsp
• turmeric powder 2 tsp
• chilli powder 1–2 tsp
• fish sauce 2–3 tbsp, plus extra to season
• pilchards in brine 1 x 400g tin (if you can’t find pilchards use tinned sardines)
• shallots 300g, peeled, left whole
• black pepper
• dried rice vermicelli 400g (0.8–1mm size), cooked, rinsed and left in cold water
• limes 3, cut into wedges
• chilli flakes or chilli flakes in oil
• hard-boiled eggs 6, cut in half
• coriander leaves
• crispy chana dal crackers 1 batch, broken up (see below)
• chana dal (or yellow split peas) 250g, soaked overnight or for at least 4 hours
• rice flour 95g
• plain flour 40g
• baking powder ½ tsp
• salt ½ tsp, plus extra to serve
• cold water 250ml
• vegetable, sunflower or peanut oil for deep-frying