Sunday, March 21, 2010

Meatless Monday: Indian Dhal





So many readers confessed their love for naan in this post, I thought I'd share a recipe that used naan as a delivery vehicle. Gives you a good excuse to eat a buttload of naan, eh?

Dhal (lentil curry) is a South Indian staple; many South Indians are vegetarians, and dhal is a primary source of protein--it's not uncommon to see dhal on the table at every meal.

Traditional dhals are often soupy, and served with rice. My husband doesn't like his dhal like that, and frankly, neither do I.

So welcome to TKW's Bastardized Dhal. This dhal is thicker, and served with my beloved naan, for scooping. This recipe is spicy, so if you have delicate tongues, I suggest you halve the amount of chiles involved. Either way, I'd recommend serving the dhal with a cooling raita.

I love raita--the refreshing blend of cucumbers and yogurt provide the perfect counterpoint to Indian spices. And for the record, it's delicious with naan, too. I think I'm the poster child for Eat More Naan!

Both recipes are adapted (eg: Bastardized) from the cookbook Curried Favors by Maya Kaimal MacMillan. I highly recommend this cookbook; it's by far my favorite of the Indian ones I own (you can get it on Amazon.com). A lot of Indian cookbooks are very fussy and require you to toast your own spices and grind them yourself. This one does not, and while there are some time-consuming recipes, there are a lot of recipes so simple that dinner's on the table in about 30 minutes.

Spicy Dhal with Tomatoes
adapted from Curried Favors by Maya Kaimal MacMillan
serves 6-8


1 cup masoor dhal (dried red lentils...you can get these at Whole Foods) or yellow thool dal, rinsed
2 cups water
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric

1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon crushed red pepper
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup finely chopped onion
1 teaspoon minced garlic
2-3 green chiles (serrano, Thai or jalapeno), split lengthwise

1 cup chopped tomatoes, fresh or canned, drained

1 teaspoon salt

2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped

In a medium saucepan, bring dhal, water and turmeric to a boil; turn down heat, cover and let simmer for 20-30 minutes (you will need only 20 minutes if you use red lentils, more if you use yellow). Watch for spilling. (Remove cover to let bubbles subside if spilling occurs).

While dhal cooks, heat oil, cumin seeds, mustard seeds and crushed red pepper in a covered, heavy 3-quart saucepan over medium-high heat. When mustard seeds start to pop, turn the heat down to medium and add onion, garlic and green chiles and cook for 5 minutes until onion is soft.

Add the tomatoes and cook, stirring, until slightly softened, about 3-5 minutes.

When dhal is cooked and tender, mash with a potato masher or the back of a spoon to break up roughly (if you use red lentils, you probably won't have to do this. Red lentils fall apart quite easily). Add tomato and spice mixture (you can throw the green chiles out at this point or choose to leave them in, whichever you prefer). Stir in salt and bring to a boil. Simmer for 2 minutes, adding more water for a thinner consistency, if desired.

Adjust seasonings, garnish with cilantro.


Raita
adapted from Curried Favors by Maya Kaimal Macmillan
serves 8


2 medium hothouse (English) cucumbers, seeded and coarsely grated or finely chopped (you can peel the cucumber if it suits you)
1 cup white onion, grated or very finely chopped
2 cups plain greek 2% milk yogurt, such as Fage
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
dash of cayenne pepper
dash of black pepper
1 teaspoon salt

In a medium bowl, combine all ingredients. Set aside for 20 minutes before serving so flavors can blend and mixture thins out a little. Taste for salt and adjust if necessary.

45 comments:

  1. I literally discovered Indian food days ago...and since then I have bought an Indian cookbook, have two recipes planned for this week and will definitely look up your recipe for naan. How could I have gone 46 years and never tasted Indian food...Better late than never!!

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  2. I have to admit, I fear Indian food. The spices. The heat. But you are starting to convince me to be bold and give it a try. Especially if I can get Naan at Target. How easy is that?? I am a huge Greek food fan. The Naan seems to be similar to pita and the Raita sounds like a slightly spicier version of Tzatziki. Am I translating my Indian to Greek correctly? I'd be curious.

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  3. OMG, dahl is one of my favorite Indian dishes! Your recipe is remarkably similar, except for some of the process. I like it hot, too, but I don't like naan. I love dahl on rice! In fact, I just made it a couple of days ago. Lentils and rice together provide the complete set of amino acids for the body to use as protein, so it's really all you need (if you use whole-grain brown rice like I do).
    Have you tried the Balti recipes? I think it's northern Indian. Really delicious too.

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  4. This looks/sounds great I love the spicy lentils and the creamy cucumber yogurt sauce together.

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  5. BTW, I've awarded your the Beautiful Blog Award. Come check out my site.

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  6. BTW, I have awarded you the Beautiful Blog Award. Come and check out my site!

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  7. Dhal is fantastic but like you I prefer a thicker version. My husband is Indian and likes his as the traditional runny version.

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  8. Yum, yum, yum. I am digging your introduction to Indian cooking. The perfect interlude for me while I wait for Curried Favors to arrive from Amazon!

    And I know I already told you this, TKW, but I thought I would mention it for the other naan lovers out there: I recently tried the naan from, gasp, Walmart and it wasn't half bad. (Actually better than the kind I got from Trader Joe's.)

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  9. This just might be the dish. The one I save and make and inhale when I just Can't. Be. Pregnant. One. More. Minute. They say spicy does the trick. And it sounds delicious! =>

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  10. I'm coming over for Indian food pronto, TKW. All I have to do is figure out where you live other than in my computer... Just get some mint chutney read for me to dip the whole shebang in and I'll be happy.

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  11. YES to dahl, YES to Indian in general. Yes to spicy, yes to thicker. Yes to Naan and yes to raita.

    (@Stacia, spicy does nothing for gettin' my baabies out. I've been living on jalapenos for a week and my second baby won't freaking come out. Acupuncture. After some naan.)

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  12. I'm going to have to try this. I've had Indian food once. And I can't remember it since it was so long ago. But I'll give it a shot.

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  13. Oohh Love, love, love Dahl, naan and everything in between!
    I'll be giving this a go for sure-cheers as always.

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  14. Smells delicious. Don't ask, I simply CAN smell it. Love the concept of naan as a delivery vehicle. The issue I have with naan is I scoff the whole thing immediately and then struggle to finish the real food. Ah well, the naan is worth it.

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  15. I love Indian food - we just went out to our neighbourhood restaurant last night. I confess to not cooking Indian, though I have plenty of lentils around. Must get better about doing this instead of going out. Am in the process of making pita bread for the first time, to take Indian leftovers for our meal between running and the pub. I'll get to dahl eventually, I'm sure!

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  16. My husband gave up meat for Lent so I've been hoping you'd post something without meat. However, I don't know what almost half of these ingredients are. :) Maybe we'll order out.

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  17. You know, before children, I loved to cook. Really loved it. Then I had kids, life got so busy, I was happy to just be able to put a meal on the table, let alone indulge in anything interesting. Then my oldest son turned 18 months and his palate went to crap. He eats NOTHING. Dinnertime is drama time in our house and it takes all the fun out of cooking. All that nonsense to say, I think you might just be rekindling my love of cooking. I'm literally eating up your posts! Thanks for that.

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  18. Ok, so every time I try and make something with brown or red lentils, they get a mushy. But it sounds like they are supposed to be that way for this. So maybe I should dig out that bag of red lentils in the pantry and give this a go. Because I don't think I can break this recipe!

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  19. Bastardized!!!! Makes me laugh. I would love to try this sometime.

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  20. I love, love LOVE lentils and yogurt together! Naan is delicious too, but like the OG's crack breadsticks it's a little too easy to inhale without thinking.

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  21. You post the most interesting recipes...my palate and stomach (and family) thank you!

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  22. I am so glad to finally get to see your dhal recipe! You know I love dhal! Oh and an extra bonus, your Raita recipe looks wonderful too. Can't wait.

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  23. I've only tried Indian food once. I should probably live a little huh?

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  24. I love dhal - it is a good comfort food and not to difficult to make! :) xxx

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  25. I'm on board with any excuse to eat naan. May have to make this tonight! Thanks.

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  26. This was written for me wasn't it?
    I think that after reading your recipes for months now I am finally starting to come out of my no-cooking-fog and am getting antsy to try out your recipes and see just how spankin' TKW is!

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  27. What an interesting recipe! I've never tried anything like it so it would be perfect for me to try to make! It looks delicious!

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  28. TKW, you are "one spicy Dahl."

    Yeah, yeah. You must get that all the time. . .

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  29. Yay, more Indian recipes!!! I love the way this recipe sounds: vegetarian and spicy!

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  30. I can almost smell your dhal! Years ago I had a roommate who made her mother's dhal recipe every week and it was heaven! Her recipe was almost exactly like yours, except that she also thre in some diced zucchini for extra veggies. I haven't made it myself in years but am now craving it!

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  31. "TKW's Bastardized Dhal" - you crack me up, woman!

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  32. I can't wait to make this. We love lentils and Indian food but I don't make it nearly often enough at home. Beautiful picture too!

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  33. The only way you'll get me to eat a lentil is spicy dahl with naan. I know they're healty, but the Indians seem to be the only ones to make them palatable.

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  34. there is the most amazing Indian Market in Berkeley! You must come and check it out.

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  35. Yeah. I am going to show off my food ignorance here by saying I have NEVER heard of naan. I don't even know what it looks like. Hmmm...

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  36. Bastardized...you need to write the "white Trash Dictionary"!!!!
    My addition would be "Skank-A-Rank- A-Saurus" (that is what I call nasty white trash folk) or "Rank-a-skank-a-saurus"..either one will do!

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  37. Wendi, the red ones really are supposed to break down, and they do so quickly. If you are used to the French (green) lentils, it can be quite a shock! These guys break all the "rules of lentil." But they are awesome for dhal.

    Amber, you are looking at naan in this post. It's like a yummy, thin, bubbly version of pizza dough. And, like Elizabeth and Mo point out, it's so delicious that you can scarf down a ton of it before you've known what you've done.

    Sarah sistah--of *course* this was for you! Isn't everything?

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  38. JEEZ. Laura, you were the first person I intended to comment to and then all sorts of distractions (cat barf, anyone?) and I forgot.

    You are VERY correct in that there's some cross-cultural flavoring going on. Sometimes (shh, don't tell my MIL) I add mint to my raita. I love it that way. And if I can't get naan, I use pita--though I got so spoiled by the pita in Greece that I don't wanna go back!

    Greece had the freshest, most amazing food I've ever eaten. There's a lot of Greek food that is...okay, for a lack of a better word, fusion? Probably because their waterways were the best thing going, so they got a lot of influences/other tastes coming in.

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  39. I just wanted to say thank you Again for Fridays receipe. My family loved it.

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  40. You are making me hungry for dinner all over again! I would like my Dhal thicker too. This is my kind of grub!

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  41. Yum. Wish I knew someone who could make this for me. I don't think I'd have the patience.

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  42. I don't cook a lot of Indian food because my family is not overly fond of it. However, I do love naan and serve it with lots of things...
    think I will gather my courage and try this out on my group. If I am run out of town, I am giving them your email address! ;)

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  43. Amen on the non-soupy version of this. I love me some Indian food, but I haven't been able to handle dhal because it's always been the runny kind. Not sure if it was a texture/consistency thing? Whatever the case, thank you for this. And the cookbook recommendation.

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  44. I love making a big pot of daal on Sunday for quick lunches during the week. Just found your blog from SE...looking forward to reading your naan post.

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