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Recipes for Newbies
Cooking
Lentils:
There are many different
ways of cooking lentils:
1. In a large pot, on the stove top, I’ve put 1 cup of washed lentils,
with 8 cups of water, let it come to the boil, skimmed off the scum and
then reduced the heat till it is boiling gently. Dal is done when it has
lost its shape (except for channa).
2. These days I just use a pressure cooker, adding enough water to cover
the dal by two inches (pressure cooker should never be more than 2/3
full) and let it cook for ten mins. (Indians will say two whistles in a
recipe, as we put the weight on before placing it on the stove and when
the first whistle or steam is released, then we lower the heat and wait
for it to do the same thing one more time, before we turn the stove off,
wait for the pressure cooker to cook and then open it.) NEVER open a
pressure cooker immediately after cooking…I did that once and three
fingers on my right hand were so badly scalded, the nails on that hand
grown out crooked till this day. The pain was unbearable.
Also, overloading a pressure cooker, will cause it to blow it’s lid off
and this has happened in our house, resulting in the dal being on the
ceiling, one very scared cook, and one very angry mother.
PLEASE don’t be absent-minded around a pressure cooker.
If you’re ever in a hurry to open it, take it carefully over to the
sink, and I mean carefully, and run cold water over it till you hear the
hissing subside and the weight gives a click…then open VERY carefully.
If all this scare you…just cook dal using the other methods.
3. In a crock pot: I put in 1 cup of dal with 3 cups of water and leave
it for 1 hour. I only use this when I have to go out and want the dal
done when I come back.
4. The old way, my aunt used to cook dal, was over a wood fire, in a
well blackened pot, where she would let it simmer
for hours, then season it for the best tasting dal ever.
Well cooked dal is soft and
has absorbed most of the water, which makes it soft to mash with the
back of the spoon.
When a dish calls for very thin dal, a food processor, blender, wooden
masher, or eggbeater is used after the dal has cooled
Add NOTHING to dal before cooking it, except 1 tsp of oil.
For some dal recipes that include ginger, this is also added to the dal
with the oil.
Never add cold water to the cooking dal, if the water put in to cook it
has been absorbed and the dal is still uncooked. Always add hot water.
Memories: Dal was the first thing cooked each morning in our house,
usually with a vegetable in a round pan that came along with the
pressure cooker.
The dal was used with a vegetable, or for sambar (the most popular dal
curry in the South); the water it was cooked in with very little dal
went to making the rasam (pepperwater that provided the second course.
Often the plain, well-mashed dal was served on top of the rice, with a
tsp of ghee and a pinch of salt as the very first part of the meal. This
is served at weddings too, in South India, as a very important item of
the wedding lunch. My mother used to tell stories of weddings where the
guests have been offended if this part is omitted.
Once you've learned to cook dal, the sky's the limit for the dishes
that can be made with dal.
Type in dal recipes for Indian recipes and lentils for recipes from all
over the rest of the world.
I'm giving a few super easy, quick one below that my family enjoy.
After you have cooked dal, the easiest recipe is just to season it and
eat it with hot rice/rotis (whole wheat tortillas).
Different seasoning give different tastes:
Plain Dal
Cook one cup toor dal.
Make the dal thin by adding water and mixing it in the blender.
Seasoning: Heat one Tablespoon ghee and put in 1 tsp whole cumin, curry
leaves if you have them.
Watch carefully or cumin will burn very quickly...as soon as cumin is
brown, add to dal.
Add salt and a pinch of turmeric and bring it to the boil once.
This dal, very common in Maharashtra, where it is called varan, tastes
best with rice.
I add a whole green chilli to the dal when it is cooking, as we like the
flavor.
VARIATION: I season in 1 tsp olive oil plus one tsp ghee now to
cut down on fat.
Shortcut: When I cook dal I freeze half or two thirds for other meals so
I don't have to go through the basic cooking and washing of the pressure
cooker.
When it is hot, dal has to be cooled and frozen promptly as it tends to
go bad very quickly in the heat.
Leftover dal is better frozen as plain dal left in the refrigerator
acquires a glaze in 2-3 days.
PLAIN DHAL WITH TOMATOES AND ONIONS
A favorite in our house.
Cook toor dal till all the water is absorbed.
When it's done, mash it slightly with the back of the cooking spoon.
Then fry one medium sliced onion. When it is brown I add two medium
tomatoes, and 1 tbsp. chopped cilantro, chopped green chillies
(optional) and fry till the juice of the tomatoes is absorbed.
Add this to the dal with salt and mix well.
Delicious with hot rotis.
LENTILS WITH RICE:
I c. whole toor dal, washed.
1 c rice (I use Basmati from Costco), also washed.
Put this in a rice cooker with salt to taste and a pinch of turmeric.
Add 4 cups of water and turn cooker on.
If you don't have a rice cooker, this can be done in a pressure cooker
or on the stovetop.
If cooking on stove, add water, let mixture come to a boil then lower
heat to medium and let it cook.
When water is almost absorbed (6-8 minutes) cover for the last few with
a lid.
Check in two mins. Dal should be soft when pressed between thumb and
forefinger.
Whole toor will retain its shape after being cooked.
To season: Heat 1 tbsp oil, put in 1 bay leaf, 3 whole cloves... with
bud removed or it will burst in the oil, a two inch stick of cinnamon
and fry till bay leaf is light brown.
You can remove and discard the spices at this point if you want. I leave
it in the pot.
Add and fry one small sliced onion.
Add to rice & dal mixture (khichadi) and mix gently.
Eat alone, or with yogurt.
Sometimes I make spinach to go with this dish but most of the time we
just eat it by itself.
Freezes well and I re-heat it in the microwave.
Feedback/contributions/tips:
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