Aarti Paarti #3 Recipe: My mum's Basic Dal (lentils)

As promised, here is the written recipe to accompany the latest episode of Aarti Paarti!

This is probably the first Indian thing I ever made. It's your basic dal recipe, and I bet every mother makes it a little differently. When made well, it is so satisfying that you really don't need to eat anything else, even though it's nothing more than lentils, water and tomatoes. Oh, and the holy trinity of Indian cooking: turmeric, chili powder/paprika and asfoetida (aka hing). I only have one bowl of it left after we demolished it for dinner last night, and you best believe that I will fight Bren, dodge all his Krav Maga offenses, in order to eat it myself!


My mum's basic Dal

1/2 cup masoor dal (red lentils)
1/2 cup toor dal (split pigeon peas)
(alternatively, just use 1 cup of either one)

1 onion, thinly sliced
4 cloves garlic, thinly sliced
1/2" piece of ginger, peeled and minced
2 medium tomatoes, diced
1 serrano chile, sliced in two (optional)
2 cups water

BAGAAR:
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp black mustard seeds
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp (generous) turmeric powder
1/2 tsp paprika (or bafaat powder if you have it)
1/4 tsp asfoetida (hing)
1/2 sprig curry leaves
2 extra cloves garlic, whole, with papery wrapping still attached
Handful chopped fresh cilantro

1) Sort lentils, picking out pebbles and shmutz. Wash under running water, and then cover with water and soak for 30 minutes.

2) In a 3qt saucepan, combine water, onions, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and drained dal over a medium-high flame. Cover and bring to a boil. Skim any scum that has built up. DO NOT ADD SALT YET. It will toughen the lentils, thereby elongating their cooking time. Turn heat down until dal mixture is gently simmering, cover and cook 30-40 minutes until lentils are tender, almost translucent and almost falling apart.

3) Whisk the dal, releasing its natural starch and mashing some of the more delicate pieces so it thickens the soup. Add salt. I use about 1 tsp of kosher salt.

4) In a small skillet, over a medium-high flame, warm 1 tbsp vegetable oil. In a small bowl, combine cumin and mustard seeds. In another bowl, combine spice powders. Have all the ingredients ready to go because this will move very fast!

5) Once oil is shimmering, add garlic. Allow the outsides to toast a little, turning a light brown, then throw in seeds and immediately cover so you don't get covered in spluttering oil and seeds!

6) Once the spluttering dies down a little, grab the curry leaves and chuck 'em in. Again, immediately cover the skillet until the spluttering dies down. It should smell like heaven in your kitchen right now!

7) Finally, add the spices. They should sizzle and bubble a little -- that's the blooming and it's exactly what you want. Don't let them burn however. Let them bloom for about 30 seconds, no more.

8) Pour the oil mixture into the dal, standing back so you don't get hurt when the mixture splutters again. Stir all the oil, seeds, spices and garlic into the dal. Finish with a handful of chopped fresh cilantro and serve!

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aarti

Aarti Paarti #3 is up!

Take a look! Man, I was up 'til 2:30 this morning finishing that thing. I'm still surprisingly bright-eyed and bushy-tailed this morning. Ha!

This week, a subject you loyal readers know I'm obsessed with at the moment: lentils! This time, a more traditional dal recipe that I grew up with. It's a soupier version that you can eat on its own, or yes you guessed it, over rice. You can also spice it up with a green serrano chili or two. I didn't, because of Bren's delicate-flower constitution. Love you ba!

We're using red lentils (masoor dal) and split pigeon peas (toor dal) in this recipe. If you'd like to simplify, just use the red ones. Other specialty ingredients: curry leaves (of course! I know! I have a problem!), turmeric and asfoetida powder.

I'll put the recipe up a little later.

-x-
aarti

Twist on CSAs

Hi luvvies...

Since so many of you are fans of CSAs, thought I'd pass on a development in the movement: meat CSAs. It's a sad commentary on how far away we've gotten from the days of yore or even from my hometown in India where the fact that the meat you're putting in your body once grazed somewhere near you... is a given.

In a related matter, did any of catch the episode of "The F Word" when Gordon Ramsey had to take his pigs (whom he'd raised in his backyard) to the slaughterhouse, so he could put them on the restaurant menu the next week? I have never seen that tough exterior so visibly shaken. Truly tearful. But he wasn't a hypocrite; he saw it through. I can truly say that I have never liked Ramsey as much as I do on this show. It's my favorite food-themed show on television. Take a look, but watch out, it's gruesome:



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aarti

"Me & Stephon" - The Saga Continues

Ha! Well, quandry over -- Laura has very kindly offered me her coffee grinder! Yippee! Ask and ye shall receive! Whooppeeeeee THANKYOU LAURA!

In other bountiful news, Bren's improvised chinwag with the NY Knicks' Stephon Marbury has garnered even more eyeballs! The first episode (of 5) has over 11,000 hits. That isn't a typo. Eleven thousand. Cool, eh?

The second episode has about 1,000. The third episode went up today, and actually I'm having a hard time choosing which is my favorite. I mean, likening Stephon's tiff with the Knicks to a break-up with your live-in boyfriend, whose apartment you're still inhabiting... brilliant!

Which one is YOUR favorite? Click below and you can see for yourself!

Episode 1 (in which Bren and Stephon discuss why a million dollar player is waiting for the bus)
Episode 2 (in which Bren asks Stephon what he'd have to do to get his name tattoo'd on his arm)
Episode 3 (in which... well I just told you!)

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aarti

Quandry

My coffee grinder is broken. This is not a new development. It's just like me to keep something that's been broken for MONTHS in the hope that I'll figure out what to do with it. I have been going without it, but now it's starting to get on my nerves; poor Bren has heard me moan and groan about this silly thing for weeks now, and I'm sure he's bored to death by my external dialogue about it!

See, I don't use it to grind coffee. Yes, coffee purists, I grind mine at the supermarket and then work my way through the grounds in the next couple weeks. Shock, horror... now pull your knickers up and listen, 'cos I need your help!

I use the thing to grind up freshly toasted spices (cumin, coriander, cinnamon, cloves, chilies...). Freshly ground spices taste so much better, don't you think? My mortar and pestle is a delicate thing, no match for the robust outer shells of cloves and cumin, and so I rely on my coffee grinder. Made in Germany, but no match for an Indian cook I'm afraid. It bit it after I ground up some toasted coriander seeds.

So here's my quandry. Do I try to find a place that'll fix it, no doubt costing more than the $20 or so that the thing cost in the first place? Or do I throw it in the garbage, where it will occupyup more space in a landfill and come back to haunt my grandchildren?

Help!

-x-
aarti

Aarti Cooks: "Blessed are the Meek" Dal

Last week's recipe was an exercise in extravagance. At least, as much extravagance as we're allowed at the moment: steak, onion-date compote, parsnip chips and of course a glass of wine. What better way to toast the essence of our role on earth: love!

This week, I yo-yo'd down to earth, seeking a culinary-cuddle from one of the most humble ingredients in any Indian kitchen: dal (lentils). Indians love their dal. Especially the vegetarian ones. These tough little nuggets don't look like they're very helpful: brittle, long-cooking, bland. But, if cooked right, they are a vegetarian's dream. Beneath that tough exterior lies a satisfying bite, a healthy source of protein, fiber and surpisingly, calcium. That's especially helpful to me since I am keeping away from dairy at the moment, but I'm still concerned about my bones shattering if I break it down too hard on the dance floor.

There's another thing to love about dal.

It's cheap. CHEAP people! If you're trying to cut down how much you're spending on food, buy dal, and eat it once a week. I bought a bag that will provide 3 separates meals, each of which will serve the two of us for a couple of days... for $3.

I invite you on my journey to discover new ways to cook dal, thus upping our calcium intake, and lowering our grocery bill. Shall we begin? Yes, lets.

There are tons of dals: yellow, orange, green, chubby ones, petite ones... lentils, they're just like us!

Each of those dals can be cooked in a hundred different ways. Just make sure that you pick over them, to grab any stones or yucky looking ones, before you cook them.

I usually have a few different kinds buried in my cabinets, but when I pulled them out to take a photo of them, they looked so pretty above my stove (next to a photo of my mum!) that I think I'm going to leave them there from now on:


From near to far, I have: green split peas, toor dal, kala channa (black chickpeas) and yellow moong dal.

So, let our journey begin with the humblest of the humble, the most unassuming of the bunch: ye olde green split pea.

I've never had split pea soup. I remember having a nightmare about it though, when I was little. In my dream, everyone was at our house (D148, Sequeiras!) and we were playing with some other kids whilst the adults sat around sipping on Johnny Walker (ha!). Suddenly, this putrid smell pinched my nostrils together. "Ewwwww!" I thought, but followed the trail anyway, as Marmaduke might follow the scent of a cat... and I came upon a big tureen of green split pea soup on the dinner table, the texture of diarrhea with a smell to match. It was a horrible dream. Haunted me forever.

Ever since then, it has taken every ounce of my strength to re-embrace the split pea. This was the one dish that helped me get there.

Serve it over rice, and you have that classic rice-and-beans combo that apparently, creates a perfect protein: all the amino acids strains that you find in meat, lined up in a nice row. While white basmati is traditional, I prefer both the taste and nutrition of brown basmati rice. So. Good.



I'd like to dispel one myth in the legend of the lentil though: beans and lentils DO NOT contain a lot of protein. A 1/2 cup serving of lentils contains 9g of protein, whilst a chicken breast contains 30. But something is better than nothing, and if you're not Gina Carano, it probably doesn't matter.

Beyond the physical satisfaction of eating dal, there's also a philosophical, almost metaphysical satisfaction too that always brings a smile to my face when I make dal. Personally, I feel connected to my homeland; I can almost feel invisible roots sprouting from my tummy to my mum's tummy. But there's even more.

There's something magical about eating a food so humble and yet so beloved as dal, a food eaten by India's elite and poor alike... savored by both vegetarians and carnivores, that in its dry form, keeps forever, waiting patiently, meekly in your cupboard for that day you run to it with a smile on your face saying, "There you are! How could I overlook you for so long! I can't wait to eat you!". The meek shall indeed, inherit the earth! Or at least, my tummy!

This preparation of dal takes the least amount of time (about 35 minutes total). It also requires that bagaar technique I may have mentioned in the past where once the main part of the dish is cooked, you finish it off with a tablespoon of mustard seed and curry leaf-infused oil. Oh and don't forgo the lime! It's really important!

Bagaaring

Altogether, this dish packs a whallop of flavor: nutty, sweet, smoky, fresh and pungent, joining hands to wrap me up in that culinary cuddle that reminds me not only of home but of the joy of taking the unassuming pauper, gussying her up and standing back in awe of the princess she really is.



"Blessed are the Meek" Dal: Green Split peas with Sweet Potato, Curry Leaves, Tomato and Lime.

You'll need this stuff: Oh and that lime form last week? We'll need that too.



1 cup dried green split peas, picked over for stones and washed
1 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 onion, sliced thin from pole to pole
4 cloves garlic, sliced thinly
1" piece ginger, peeled, and minced finely
1 medium sweet potato, peeled and diced (not too small, or they'll fall apart)
2 - 3 medium tomatoes (I used 2.5, hence the vagueness here)
1 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp bafaat powder or paprika
1 tsp cumin powder
3 cups water
1 tsp kosher salt
Handful fresh cilantro/coriander leaves, chopped
Wedges of lime to finish off

Finishing touch/Bagaar
1 tbsp vegetable or peanut oil
1 tsp mustard seeds
Leaves from 1 sprig of curry leaf

1) Cover the split peas with water in a small bowl. Soak while you're doing the next few steps.

2) Heat oil in a 3 qt saucepan over medium-high heat. Add onion once oil is shimmering.

3) After a minute or so, when onions are softening, add the garlic and ginger. Cook until light golden brown colour.

4) Add sweet potatoes, turn up the heat a touch and saute until a sweet browned onion smell wafts up your nose! The sweet potatoes can pick up a little colour too; that's yummy!

5) Sprinkle in the spices and cook, stirring constantly, for about 30 seconds. Stirring keeps the spices from burning, which you don't want, but they do need about 30 seconds to "bloom".

6) Quickly add the tomatoes and stir. Allow the mixture to cook until the tomatoes turn mushy.

7) Drain the dal and add to the saucepan. Pour in the water. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer, cover and cook 25-35 minutes, until split peas are very tender, fall apart. If you're making brown rice, you can get that going once the dal has started to simmer. They should finish around the same time.

8) Once cooked, add salt. Don't add salt to the dal before this point because it tends to elongate your cooking time!

9) Turn the heat off. In a small pan or skillet, add 1 tbsp of oil and heat over a medium-high flame.

10) Hold the lid of the small pan in one hand, and once the oil is shimmering and hot, add the mustard seeds. They should start to fizz and splutter. Immediately, throw the lid on.

11) Once the spluttering subsides, pick up the lid and throw the curry leaves, immediately throwing the lid back on. Once again, wait until the spluttering subsides.

12) It should smell ridonkulously good in your kitchen right now!

13) Pour the oil, seeds and leaves into the dal mixture, standing back a bit because it will splutter. Mix it through, fold chopped cilantro leaves into the pot and serve over rice, with a generous squeeze of lime!




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aarti

The Best Food Blogs

'Ello luvs! I'm writing this week's installment of "Aarti Cooks" now, but in the meantime, I thought you might enjoy this list of the 50 best food blogs in the world, compiled by the Times of London. No, I'm not on there. YET (bwaaaaaahahahaaaa). Although I should probably check out my competition huh?

Enjoy!

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aarti

The Power of "Yes"!

Did any of you see "Yes Man", the Jim Carrey movie that came out a little while ago? I didn't, mostly because the trailer didn't look great, but also out of deference to my improv guru, John Thies.

John had already lived that movie in real life, and his stories were so rich, so surprising, so joyful that I knew the Hollywood version would not compare.

What do I mean?

Well, John spent a couple of years in New York just following his gut. He would wake up in the morning, grab a cup of coffee, and say to himself, well which direction to do you want to go? His gut would say, that way, to which John replied, "yes!". And he would head in that direction until his gut said, take a left here... you get the picture. He did this everyday. High-jinx ensued, and he said to yes to all the situations his gut led him to, not least of which led him to a job at Conan O'Brien and I believe a couple of gigs at SNL. Not bad, huh?

John asked us to do the same thing when we started class, and let me tell you, I couldn't even do it for a day. I am a control freak. There. I said it. But I'm realising that my kind of control freak-ism also belies an innate lack of trust in my gut. I can't imagine what kind of confidence a year of living that way would build in your gut -- your gut, that got you jobs you dreamed of, adventures you never imagined, risks that showed you how strong you really are! John says that he's got a book in him somewhere, and when that book arrives, I will be the first to buy it.

I mention this philosophy because Brendan followed his gut the other week, and I am proud to say that it rewarded him greatly!

It was a risky proposition. Bren came home from a Hothouse Films shoot, and the following conversation unfolded.

B: "So, I was driving home, and I saw Stephon Marbury sitting at a bus stop down the street."

A: "WHAT? The basketball player Stephon Marbury?!!"

B: "Yah. I think I'm going to go see if he'll shoot some scenes with me."

A: Pause. Pause. Pause. "WHAT?"

B: "Yeah, I mean, he's right there, right?"

A: "Well, yeah! That's a great idea. Go baba!"

Pause.

A: "Um, what are you going to have him do?"

B: "I dunno. But I'm an improv-er! This is what I'm supposed to be able to do!"

And with that, Bren grabbed his camera and left.

Now, Bren has followed Stephon Marbury since Bren was in highschool. This is a multi-million dollar player, who will forever have a place in my heart for his line of basketball shoes. "Starburys" buck the trend; rather than charging $80-$100 for his shoes, his cost less than $20. Anyone who can withstand the greed that comes so easily when you have that kind of pull, goes in my "that guy's cool" category. He's also in Bren's "cool guy" category because of the recent scandal Marbury's in with the Knicks.

So Bren was understandably nervous about propositioning Marbury, who was minding his own business, and probably under a bit of stress waiting for his car to get fixed. But lo and behold, ask and you shall receive! Marbury was TOTALLY cool about the whole thing, and, while sitting at the bus stop, and shot the breeze with Bren, messing around and talking about everything from the Knicks, to his tattoos (and Bren's!) to of all things, "Curb Your Enthusiasm". My favorite parts are when Bren makes Stephon laugh so hard that he breaks his tough-guy basketball player character. Isn't that amazing?

I was already proud of Bren for shooting the bless-ed thing. But this evening, I am jumping up and down for joy.

Bren put up the first video on his YouTube page. He then submitted it to the premier baskbetball online magazine, Slam, which happily posted it under the "Links" section... aaaaand... as I type, the video has garnered more than 1,000 hits!

Have I piqued your interest? Well, then go check it out! And while you're on YouTube, check out a couple of my favorite shows on Hothouse Films this season: Action Figure Theatre and Tender Hooligans. I make a cameo in one of them! And if you're interested, Bren will be posting further installments of his time with Marbury later this week.

Three cheers for following your gut and three cheers for my sweet Brendan!

-x-
aarti

Cooking show is up!

Hey guys! Sorry for the late post; I spent almost the entire day editing THE SECOND EPISODE OF AARTI PAARTI!

Yes, I know you've been waiting with bated breath, so wait no longer my sweet friends! It's up! Go take a look and let me know what you think. And if you missed last week's debut episode on baba ghanoush, you can check it out there too.

What could this week's recipe possible be, I hear you whisper to yourself? Well, it's Bren's favorite meal. And that's all I'm going to say about it. So there.

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aarti

Things that make me go, "YIPPEEEEE!"

Just received a most awesome comment on this week's recipe (Giddyup Steak with Yee-Haw compote and Parsnip Chips) from Ross, the boyfriend of my dear friend Mandi. My inner child is doing cartwheels, which is to say that she is throwing herself on the ground unsuccessfully but very, very joyfully.

"secretagentmartens said...

mandi & i made this incredible dish last night and let me tell you, it was bleepin' incredible. INCREDIBLE! Parsnip chips are better than french fries, and i LOVE fries. OMG U R da best. <3"

I believe you are mistaken, sir. You and your lady are the best. Thank you for trying it out and letting me know how it turned out. That's the greatest reward and motivation to keep me going on this adventure!

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aarti