Tag: dal
Brown Lentils with Fennel Seeds
I love making lentils. At the Indian stores, there are at least 20 different kinds of lentils lined up on the wall. It can be quite confusing and overwhelming trying to choose which ones to take home. I have about 5 or 6 that I make constantly.
These brown lentils are one of my favorites. I am always looking to cook them in a different way to change it up a bit. I like making them as they are particularly creamy and delicious. They cook fairly quick and are a perfect weeknight meal.
I made this dish with fennel seeds. I added them at the very end to give the dish a very fresh and delicate flavor. The half and half made the lentils even more creamy- really delicious!
My daughter loves all sorts of lentils and eats them happily with rice. I usually make rice with peas and serve it with the lentils- it is a complete meal. Whenever I am confused about what to make or don’t have much time, I go into my pantry and look at the lentil shelf. It is great to be able to make something at a moments notice without having to go to a grocery store.
This dish was delicious, creamy and very aromatic. We had it with rice and a big bowl of raita!
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Lentils with Mint- Pudina Dal
To me there is nothing more comforting than a big bowl of well made dal (lentils). It is equivalent to Chicken Soup here- real comfort food.
In India the lentil variety is mind boggling. I am sure there are plenty of them I have never tasted. As part of my Indian pantry, I have at least 8 to 10 different kinds on hand at any given time. They are very reasonable to buy and great to make in a cinch. Some of the lentils have a tough exterior and need longer to cook- I have my trustee pressure cooker to do the job. A slow cooker works really well also- red kidney beans (rajma) and black lentils (whole urad dal) are ideal for slow over night cooking.
A well balanced Indian meal usually includes a vegetable- saag paneer or aloo gobi; a dal- masoor; a meat dish- keema or chicken. The dishes are served with homemade yogurt and freshly made rotis (bread) or rice. Obviously the dishes vary according to household and region but the staples remain the same- dal, roti and yogurt.
My parents are visiting from India- that means we will be getting fabulous Indian food. My Mom is a great cook- that is where I get my obsession of food.
While she was unpacking her suitcase, she brought out a big container wrapped carefully in plastic wrap and all sorts of plastic bags. Out came one of my favorite mutton dishes- achari gosht. The word achari means pickled and gosht is mutton. She used to make this dish whenever we would go for a picnic or on a long train ride. The meat is cooked in pickling spices, and mustard oil and finished with vinegar; plus it does not have any water- all of these factors help with a long shelf life. It is absolutely delicious- I know what you are thinking- why didn’t she just make it here?- well, the goat meat you get back home is far more superior than here and a lot tastier- I will post the recipe soon.
Anyway, my point was that we ate the mutton dish that very night. I decided to make dal as an accompaniment. I mixed the masoor dal (pink lentils) with moong dal (yellow lentils). I wanted to keep the dish simple since the mutton dish was the star of the evening. I added a few garlic cloves and cooked the lentils with salt and turmeric. I added fresh mint from my backyard. The mint gave the dal a really fresh and light flavor- it was amazing. The whole meal was delicious and very enjoyable- brought me back to my childhood. My daughter enjoyed it as well!
This dal is perfect with any dish or just by itself with a bowl of fluffy white rice.