Tomato Curried Lentils (Daal)

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Long time no blog! It's a classic case of life getting in the way of hobbies. I've been busy and also somewhat uninspired to cook. So. I'm going to try my best to get back in the kitchen and get inspired again.

Here, we have a simple, flavorful meal full of protein and fiber. I made some classic Indian curried lentils with rice pilaf made of brown Basmati rice and wild rice. This recipe is adapted from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home: Fast and Easy Recipes for Any Day. I added more spice to make this even more flavorful.

You'll need:

• 1 medium onion, medium diced
• 2-inch piece of fresh ginger, peeled
• 1 1/2 cups lentils, rinsed
• 4 cups water
• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 3 dried chilies
• 1 fresh Thai chile
• 1 15-ounce can whole peeled tomatoes, drained and diced
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro for garnish

Begin boiling water along with dried chilies and lentils in a medium pot. After water reaches boil, reduce to simmer and gently cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until lentils are slightly undercooked. Remove chilies, drain and set aside. Add onion, ginger and Thai chilies to a food processor. Pulse until finely chopped.

In a medium pot, heat up vegetable oil. Add cumin seeds. Once seeds begin to pop, add onion ginger mixture. Turn heat to low and gently cook until onion becomes translucent. Stir occasionally. Add turmeric and stir. Stir in lentils, diced tomatoes and garam masala and bring mixture to boil. Season with salt. Reduce to simmer and cover. If mixture becomes too dry, add 1/2 cup of water each time and stir. Simmer for 15 to 20 minutes or until tomato breaks down and mixture thickens. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve with rice or roti.

Mystery Produce of the Week: Fresh Fenugreek

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Last week, we went back to our local farmer's market. As we strolled through produce stands, I was immediately drawn to this leafy herb. It was very pungent smelling, like I just walked into an Indian restaurant. The vendor told me that this is fenugreek and that we can simply sautee the tender leaf tops, but he also warned that it's "a little bitter."

I'm not easily deterred, so we bought it anyway. Turns out, it wasn't that bitter. I made an aloo methi with the tender leaves and served some homemade roti with it. The stems of fenugreek are really tough and definitely not edible. Despite the pungent smell, it really mellowed out after cooking.

Would I buy this again? Maybe. But only if I figure out what else to do with it besides this aloo methi (although that was pretty good).

Mock Lamb Curry

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Sorry about the lack of posts recently. I'm back from a short trip and ready to get cooking again! Today, we have mock lamb curry from Madhur Jaffrey's World Vegetarian. This sort of became my go-to cookbook for vegetarian dishes with some spice. I made minor changes to the recipe by substituting Tofutti Sour Cream with a squeeze of lemon for yogurt and turned this into a vegan dish. It turned out really flavorful with spices like cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, coriander, turmeric and cayenne. I paired it simply with couscous with chopped green onion and mint. As for the "lamb," it's actually cubed seitan.

Kabocha Squash in Indian-Style Curry

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I've been contemplating what to do with this confection kabocha squash that we found in our local farmer's market. In most instances, I would roast it and have it as a side. But that's so BORING! A squash this beautiful with such unique sage/slate gray skin deserves special treatment. So I decided to make an Indian-style curry with this squash and it turned out great. The delicate sweet flavors of the squash mellowed out the spicy curry, making it a balanced and flavorful dinner.

You'll need:

• 1/2 kabocha squash, seeded, peeled and diced (note: squash can be tough and hard to peel. I find that if you chop it to large wedges and microwave for 2 minutes, the squash will soften, making it easier to peel. Also, this will allow the squash to cook faster in the curry.)
• 1 medium yellow onion, roughly chopped
• 1 2-inch piece ginger, peeled and roughly chopped
• 5 cloves garlic, peeled
• 3 Thai chilies, roughly chopped
• 1 15-ounce can whole or diced tomatoes
• 1 15-ounce can garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed
• 1 teaspoon brown mustard seeds
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 2 teaspoons ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon dried ground ginger
• 1 teaspoon garlic powder
• 1 teaspoon tumeric
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons canola oil
• 2 cups vegetable stock
• 1/4 teaspoon dried mango powder (optional)

Begin by adding onion, garlic and ginger into a food processor. Pulse until the vegetables are well mixed and chopped. In a medium, heavy lidded pot, heat up canola oil until it shimmers. Add cumin seeds and brown mustard seeds. The seeds should start popping immediately. Stir in onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Gently stir and allow mixture to cook. In the meantime, pulse whole/diced tomatoes with juice in food processor until tomatoes are chopped. When the onion is softened and translucent, stir in ground cumin, ground coriander, ginger powder, garlic powder, tumeric, ground cardamon and garama masala. Stir until fragrant, about a minute or 2. Stir in tomatoes. Gently cook until most of the liquid evaporates and the mixture turns into a paste consistency. Season with salt. Stir in garbanzo beans and diced squash. Add 2 cups of vegetable stock. Bring stock to dimmer. Cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes, or until squash is completely cooked. Taste and adjust seasoning, if necessary. Stir in dried mango powder (optional). Serve over rice or with naan.

Thai Tofu Curry

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It's been such a long time since I had Thai food. I crave it from time to time. So I thought I'd make my own. I started by making some Thai red curry paste and then added soy sauce, coconut milk, string beans, sliced onions, sliced bell peppers, Thai basil and tofu. The result was sweet, spicy, creamy goodness. It was more than good enough for my Thai food craving.

I used this Thai red curry recipe, but without the Kaffir lime leaves and shrimp paste. Instead of grinding the mixture using mortar and pestle, I cheated and added everything plus some canola oil to a food processor. I think that the mortar and pestle would require a ton of work, considering that lemongrass stalks are quite tough.

This recipe is a keeper! I can't wait to have to leftovers for lunch.

Chickpea (Chole) Masala

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We're moving out and moving on! Soon, we will be in our new digs all the way on the other side of the Bay. We'll miss the Peninsula and everything it has to offer. But for now, the rubberneck week is hard to get through. To reduce the number of items that we must move, I've challenged myself to cook from the pantry and the freezer. You too can make this spicy and fragrant Indian dish if you have some pantry staples and a well-stocked spice rack. No trip to the grocery store required.

• 2 15-ounce cans of diced tomatoes
• 1 large yellow onion, chopped into large chunks
• 5 cloves of garlic, peeled
• 1 inch piece of ginger, peeled
• 1 cup of dried chickpeas
• 2 tablespoons of canola oil
• 1 teaspoon of cumin seed
• 3 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of chili powder
• 3 teaspoons of cumin
• 1 1/4 teaspoons of garam masala
• 1/2 teaspoon of ground cinnamon
• 2 Bay leaves
• 1/2 teaspoon of cayenne pepper (or 1 green chili, seeded and minced)
• 1/2 teaspoon of dried mango powder (optional)
• salt to taste
• chopped cilantro (optional garnish)

Soak dry chickpeas in water for 4 hours (or overnight). Cook chickpeas in a large pot of boiling water seasoned with salt for about 15 to 20 minutes, or until cooked but not mushy. Drain. Set aside.

Place ginger, garlic and onion in a food processor. Pulse until the mixture has a paste-like consistency. In a large skillet, heat up 2 tablespoons of canola oil. Add cumin seeds and fry until fragrant, about 1 to 2 minutes. Add onion, ginger and garlic mixture. Cook over medium heat until oil separates from the mixture. Add ground coriander, cumin, chili powder, cayenne powder (or minced green chili) and ground cinnamon. Stir to combine. Add diced tomatoes. Season with salt. Cook until oil separates again. Add garam masala, dried mango powder and cooked chickpeas. Stir to combine. Adjust seasoning if necessary. Cook for another 15 minutes over low heat. Garnish with chopped cilantro. Serve over some Basmati rice.