Wednesday, February 19, 2014

574. Red Lentil Dahl


I think Indian food is underrated.

Indian culture is so incredibly complex and colorful and ancient, and one cannot deny the Indian influence to the Arab world. We take rice for granted, but were it not for Indian trade, we would still be eating barley and wheatberries with our stews!
Hoping to increase my humble Indian food repertoire (consisting of keema, pea curry, tandoori, and mava cake), I decided to make dahl. Dahl for the Indians is like marag for the Iraqis: the baseline is the same, but each region adds their own flare to the dish.
My favorite thing about Indian food is the variety of vegetarian dishes they have; you don't miss the meat at all! I served this dahl on a bed of brown rice, but regular rice or even naan bread would do.
To kick up the spice factor, you can add chilli.


Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils
1 onion, finely diced
1 knob (2.5cm) ginger, grated
2 garlic cloves, grated
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp caraway seeds
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp garam masala
1x400g can tomato
1 tsp salt and pepper to taste



Method:

Boil lentils in 3 cups of water for 10 minutes.
Meanwhile, in 2-3 Tbsp oil, saute the onion, ginger, and garlic until translucent.
Add the mustard and caraway seeds, turmeric, and garam masala; stir until fragrant.
Add the canned tomato, juice and all, to the onion, breaking up the tomato with your wooden spoon while stirring.
Add the boiled lentils with their water, and stir to combine.
Season with salt and pepper and simmer covered for an additional 10-15 minutes.
Serve over rice and topped with a dollop of yogurt and fresh coriander.


صحة و عافية

4 comments:

Bianca said...

That looks ridiculously tasty!!! I have some red lentils in the kitchen I think its time to get creative.

TRAVEL CONFESSIONS | BURG KRONBERG

Maryam said...

Thanks Bee!
Let me know how you like it.

Umm Ahmad said...

Salam alaikum sister! I am so excited I found your blog! My husband is Iraqi and I am in forever in search of new recipes for him. I was wondering, have you made the soup with the heart of the cow? I can't find a recipe for it anywhere! Jazakalkhair!

Maryam said...

Wa alaikum al Salam my sister Um Ahmed, welcome to MCW!
No I have not, but I will conduct a search and try to make it insha Allah.
May Allah yjzeena wa yjzeekum khair aljazaa.