Slow Roasted Bell Pepper with Red Lentils (Bhuna Hua Simla Mirch Aur Masoor Dal) Recipe

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I don't think I can ever get bored of eating dal. Probably because it is so easy to make and doesn't need much planning or thought especially on a busy weeknight. And also because an egg omelette and a simple tomato dal were the first few recipes I tried under my mother's watchful eye. She is a terrific cook and all I wanted to do is cook like her. Though my first dal didn't turn out to be a spectacular one with the tempering almost burnt, I still fondly remember the night and its memories. Today's recipe (adapted from my favorite book - 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer) - Slow Roasted Bell Pepper with Red Lentils is a combination of flavors I never cooked before - bell pepper with red lentils. Finger licking good!

Feasting for a good beginning - Urad Kokum Chi Dal

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Growing up, very little was known to me about these tangy, purple berries called "Kokum" which are native to India and very widely used in Konkani cooking. It was only until, Manisha blogged about this 'tadpole-like' guessing game, I came to know there existed such a thing called Kokum.

Since then, my hands were itching to get hold of these tiny  beauties and finally I did. A little google search would enlist the numerous medicinal properties that this fruit has. :-)

Kokum can be added to our regular dals, vegetables or curries, as a healthy replacement to tamarind or lemon, due to its high antioxidant properties. It is also very colorful when added as strips to salads or any yogurt-based dish(es) and renders a little tangy flavour along with the reddish purple colour.

If you wish to know more about this fruit, you should read this fantastic post by Shilpa.

Kokum is now readily available in most of the Indian stores, here in US.

...and here is how it looks -

dried kokum phool

According to this article on epicurious, lentils are one of the lucky foods to be consumed for a good new year start -

"Legumes including beans, peas, and lentils are also symbolic of money. Their small, seedlike appearance resembles coins that swell when cooked so they are consumed with financial rewards in mind. In Brazil, the first meal of the New Year is usually lentil soup or lentils and rice, and in Japan, the osechi-ryori, a group of symbolic dishes eaten during the first three days of the new year, includes sweet black beans called kuro-mame." .. read more

So, Today's recipe features lentils (so that we too can have a lucky start for 2011) - "Urad Kokum Chi Dal" is adapted from the curry bible - 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer. This is a delicious accompaniment to both fluffy rotis & a bowl of hot rice. The creaminess of urad dal intermingled with tartness from kokum and a slight hint of chillies play very well. Our taste buds were very happy when I had this with brown rice on one of those chilly weeknights.

Urad Kokum Chi Dal

Adapted from Raghavan Iyer's 660 Curries

Ingredients -

1 cup urad dal (cream-colored, split black lentils)

4 pieces of dried black kokum pieces

1 tbsp ghee or oil

2 tsp cumin seeds

4-5 fresh green chillies (I used the Thai variety, stems removed & thinly sliced. add more if desired)

3 large cloves of garlic, finely minced

1 large tomato, finely chopped

1/4 cup shredded coconut (I used frozen, thawed slightly and then MW for 20 secs. fluff with fork)

salt - to taste

1/4 tsp turmeric

fresh curry leaves - 10-12

Preparation -

1. Place the lentils in a medium sized sauce pan, rinse & drain them thoroughly until the water is relatively clear. Add 3 cups of water and  Bring it to a boil (uncovered) over medium heat. Skim off and discard any foam that forms on the surface. Stir in turmeric and kokum pieces, cover the pan and cook on a medium-low heat for abotu 20 mins, until the lentils are a little tender.

2. Meanwhile, heat ghee or oil in a skillet, add cumin seeds, until they start to sizzle. (~ 10 seconds). Add in green chillies, garlic and saute until lightly browned. (~ 1 to 2 minutes). Mix in tomato pieces, shredded coconut, salt & curry leaves. Lower the heat and simmer uncovered, stirring occasionally until the tomatoes are completely mushy, but slightly chunky. (~ 3 to 4 minutes). Set aside the skillet.

3. Now, once the lentils are ready, add the sauce prepared in Step 2 and Stir. Pour 1 cup of water into the skillet to get those extra bits stuck at the bottom, ( I love those, they taste so yummy!) and pour the water back into the lentils. Cover the pan and simmer on medium heat until the sauce is thickened. (~ 10-12 minutes). 

4. Remove the kokum pieces and it is ready to serve with rotis or brown rice.

Check out how other blogger friends say about our *kokum* -

Nupur's Masoor Shengdana Amti (Lentil stew with Peanuts)
Musy's post on Kokum with links to many other ways to use Kokum
Red Chillies - Sol Kadi/Konkani style Kokum Kadi
Manasi's Kulith Pithla
Deesha's Kokum Tambli

Hope you are all ready for a fun New Year's Eve tomorrow. Don't forget to have one or more of these lucky foods on Jan 1st so that you can a good (read lucky) start to 2011.

[Update] - Sending this bowl of piping hot dal to Priya's MLLA 30 event, originally started by Susan of "The Well Seasoned Cook".

until next time,
Siri

Makhani Dal (Whole Black lentils with Ginger, Garlic and Butter)

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Are you guys watching the new Next Food Network Star on Food Network?. I am so rooting for Aarti Sequeria,  a former CNN producer who later trained at The New School of Cooking in Los Angeles. I love the way she fuses indian flavors in almost any dish she makes. I just hope she wins the challenge and finally bring the first-ever show on FN based on Indian cooking.

..coming back to today's dish - it is based on legumes, the best source of protein with less cholesterol levels (when compared to other meat-alternatives) for we, Vegetarians. there are so many varieties of legumes and their derivatives that it is unbelievable. It is also scientifically proven that consumption of legumes will reduce the risk of many cancers and these are very good sources of iron, calcium and other nutrients. Now, with all this info, are convinced to make some lovely legume recipes for this month's - My Legume Love Affair 25.

The best part of this dish, that there is no-pre-soaking-of-the-legumes-required. Yes, even I was surprised. The recipe is from Raghavan Iyer's amazing cookbook 660 Curries. I am planning to make many more, in future. So stay tuned. :)

 Makhani Dal (Whole Black lentils with Ginger, Garlic and Butter)

   

Adapted from: 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer (Pg: 364)

Ingredients

1 cup whole black lentils (sabud urad)
2 tbsp unsalted butter or vegetable oil
1/2 tsp fresh ginger paste + 1/2 tsp garlic paste (or 1 tsp of store-bought ginger garlic paste)
1/2 cup yogurt
1/2 cup light sour cream (optional. I sometimes just increase the amount of yogurt if I don't have any)
Salt - to taste
1 tsp garam masala (or curry powder)
1 tsp red chilli powder
finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves

Preparation

1. Place the lentils in a pressure cooker. There is no need to soak them the previous day like we do for red beans. Fill the cooker halfway with water and rinse the lentils by rubbing them between your fingertips. The water may appear slightly dirty. Drain this water. Repeat 3 or 4 times, until the water remains relatively clear. Drain. Now add 3 cups of water and bring to a boil, uncovered, over high heat. Skim off and discard any foam that forms on the surface. Stir in the ginger and garlic pastes. Seal the cooker shut and allow the pressure to build up. When the cooker reaches full pressure, reduce the heat to medium-low and cook for about 45 minutes. Remove the cooker from the heat and allow the pressure to subside naturally. (about 15 minutes) before opening the lid. Tip: I typically cook 3 to 4 cups of beans, cool, store in an air tight container or a bag and freeze.

2. Combine the yogurt, sour cream (if using), salt, garam masala and cayenne (or red chilli powder) in a blender jar. Puree, scraping the inside of the jar as needed, to make a smooth, batter-like paste, speckled with brown and red spices.

3. Once the lentils are ready, stir in the butter and the creamy yogurt paste. Let this lentil mixture boil for 8 to 10 minutes. Sprinkle with the cilantro and Serve with anything - plain rice, pulao, rotis etc.

Have a great weekend ahead.

until next time,

Siri