Everyday Lentil Dal
My daughter Ocean is at Uni and was complaining to us that she wanted to do curry but never had the right spices and moreover didn't have anything to keep them in since the kitchen was the size a fairly small rabbit hutch.
So for Christmas I paid a visit to Kin Yip Hon and bought all the spices that I use and Helen went to Ikea and got a little wooden storage unit that fitted twenty spice jars. Since Christmas Ocean appears to have been cooking non stop and the other day asked me for my favourite recipe.
This is my go to recipe, the one that I do when I’m in a hurry or the one that I modify the most with other ingredients.
With many thanks to Veg Recipes of India who have some of the best recipes. This recipe borrows from many of theirs.
Dry frying spices
4 or 5 Cloves – I just grab some and chuck them in, sometimes more sometimes less (laung)
¼ tsp of fennel seeds (saunf)
4 or 5 green cardamom – see cloves (hari elaichi)
1 black cardamom - split with a knife (badi elaichi)
Sprinkle of mustard seeds (sarson)
1 star anise (chakriphool)
Couple of bay leaves (tej patta)
Cinnamon stick (dalchini)
Black pepper – I usually grind it but you can use them whole (kali mirch)
Oil – I always use olive oil but basically whatever your preference is
What you have above is a basic whole garam masala and I use a variation on this for nearly any Indian recipe that I do.
1 tsp turmeric (haldi)
2 or 3 green cardamom
1 vegetable Oxo (or salt if you prefer)
Roughly 1 cup of red lentils
2 or 3 carrots – cut into thick slices
2 or 3 medium onions – roughly chopped
2 or 3 tomatoes – roughly chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic – chopped finely
1 fresh red chilli – or pickled or dried – chopped finely (add more or less according to how hot you like it. You may want to use more chillis)
1 tspn of Dried Mango powder (amchoor)
1 tspn of Garam Masala
Optional
Fresh ginger – about half an inch finely chopped or grated
Mushrooms
Fresh coriander
Spinach / Kale / Cavolo Nero
Potatoes roasted with whole garam masala spices, turmeric and sea salt
Aubergine roasted with garam masala spices and garlic
Sherry
Your best bet is to prepare all the vegetables first and then there is less panic when you need to add stuff. Needless to say I always forget and find myself frantically chopping onions ‘cos the spices are starting to burn and I don’t want to turn the heat down.
I always use a fairly big heavy based pan and do everything in that as it’s easier than trying to transfer from frying pan to saucepan etc. Chuck all the dry frying spices into the pan and dry fry on a medium heat until they are starting to pop and you can smell the oils being released.
Whilst the spices are frying add the lentils to a small saucepan with a teaspoon of turmeric and a couple of green cardamom, add water to cover to about half an inch and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer add the Oxo. You’ll almost certainly need to add more water if the lentils start to get too thick so keep an eye on them, you don’t want them too thin nor very thick and stodgy
When the dry spices are releasing their oils and you can smell them add a generous quantity of oil and add the onions and fry until golden and tender. Whilst the onions are frying add the carrots to the lentils. You need to add the carrots to the lentils whilst there is still enough water to cook them but you don’t want the carrots to overcook and become soft.
Once the onions are golden and tender add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry until the raw smell of the garlic and chilli has dissipated. Add the tomatoes and cook until the entire tomato and onion mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan and you see the oil leaving from the sides. This cooking method is called bhunao in Punjabi and takes some time.
Whilst the onions and tomatoes are cooking prepare any of the other soft veg you are using such as mushrooms or spinach. If the lentils are getting thick then you can add a splash of sherry if you are using it.
Once the onions and tomatoes are done add the lentils and stir thoroughly. At this point if you are using mushrooms and spinach add them and cook until the spinach is thoroughly wilted and / or the mushrooms are cooked.
If you have done roast aubergine then add them now. I usually do the potatoes and aubergines as wedges when I do this. If I am using aubergine I generally add them half roasted and cook further in the mixture. Roast potatoes can be added at the end.
If you have fresh coriander then chop it an stir it in just before you serve.
This might seem like a lot of work but this can be ready within about half an hour or so from start to finish once you are used to it and if you are only doing the basic recipe.
So for Christmas I paid a visit to Kin Yip Hon and bought all the spices that I use and Helen went to Ikea and got a little wooden storage unit that fitted twenty spice jars. Since Christmas Ocean appears to have been cooking non stop and the other day asked me for my favourite recipe.
This is my go to recipe, the one that I do when I’m in a hurry or the one that I modify the most with other ingredients.
With many thanks to Veg Recipes of India who have some of the best recipes. This recipe borrows from many of theirs.
Dry frying spices
4 or 5 Cloves – I just grab some and chuck them in, sometimes more sometimes less (laung)
¼ tsp of fennel seeds (saunf)
4 or 5 green cardamom – see cloves (hari elaichi)
1 black cardamom - split with a knife (badi elaichi)
Sprinkle of mustard seeds (sarson)
1 star anise (chakriphool)
Couple of bay leaves (tej patta)
Cinnamon stick (dalchini)
Black pepper – I usually grind it but you can use them whole (kali mirch)
Oil – I always use olive oil but basically whatever your preference is
What you have above is a basic whole garam masala and I use a variation on this for nearly any Indian recipe that I do.
1 tsp turmeric (haldi)
2 or 3 green cardamom
1 vegetable Oxo (or salt if you prefer)
Roughly 1 cup of red lentils
2 or 3 carrots – cut into thick slices
2 or 3 medium onions – roughly chopped
2 or 3 tomatoes – roughly chopped
3 or 4 cloves of garlic – chopped finely
1 fresh red chilli – or pickled or dried – chopped finely (add more or less according to how hot you like it. You may want to use more chillis)
1 tspn of Dried Mango powder (amchoor)
1 tspn of Garam Masala
Optional
Fresh ginger – about half an inch finely chopped or grated
Mushrooms
Fresh coriander
Spinach / Kale / Cavolo Nero
Potatoes roasted with whole garam masala spices, turmeric and sea salt
Aubergine roasted with garam masala spices and garlic
Sherry
Your best bet is to prepare all the vegetables first and then there is less panic when you need to add stuff. Needless to say I always forget and find myself frantically chopping onions ‘cos the spices are starting to burn and I don’t want to turn the heat down.
I always use a fairly big heavy based pan and do everything in that as it’s easier than trying to transfer from frying pan to saucepan etc. Chuck all the dry frying spices into the pan and dry fry on a medium heat until they are starting to pop and you can smell the oils being released.
Whilst the spices are frying add the lentils to a small saucepan with a teaspoon of turmeric and a couple of green cardamom, add water to cover to about half an inch and bring to the boil. Once boiling reduce to a simmer add the Oxo. You’ll almost certainly need to add more water if the lentils start to get too thick so keep an eye on them, you don’t want them too thin nor very thick and stodgy
When the dry spices are releasing their oils and you can smell them add a generous quantity of oil and add the onions and fry until golden and tender. Whilst the onions are frying add the carrots to the lentils. You need to add the carrots to the lentils whilst there is still enough water to cook them but you don’t want the carrots to overcook and become soft.
Once the onions are golden and tender add the garlic, chilli and ginger and fry until the raw smell of the garlic and chilli has dissipated. Add the tomatoes and cook until the entire tomato and onion mixture starts to leave the sides of the pan and you see the oil leaving from the sides. This cooking method is called bhunao in Punjabi and takes some time.
Whilst the onions and tomatoes are cooking prepare any of the other soft veg you are using such as mushrooms or spinach. If the lentils are getting thick then you can add a splash of sherry if you are using it.
Once the onions and tomatoes are done add the lentils and stir thoroughly. At this point if you are using mushrooms and spinach add them and cook until the spinach is thoroughly wilted and / or the mushrooms are cooked.
If you have done roast aubergine then add them now. I usually do the potatoes and aubergines as wedges when I do this. If I am using aubergine I generally add them half roasted and cook further in the mixture. Roast potatoes can be added at the end.
If you have fresh coriander then chop it an stir it in just before you serve.
This might seem like a lot of work but this can be ready within about half an hour or so from start to finish once you are used to it and if you are only doing the basic recipe.
Comments
Post a Comment