Peanut Butter Dal with Tofu

(click to enlarge)

Cooked properly, chana dal has its own nutty texture so it goes well with a peanut sauce. I don’t particularly like the mushiness of tofu by itself, but next to the chana dal and mixed with peanut butter–it’s pretty darned heavenly. I imagine almond butter would also be very good in this recipe.

Dal

1 cup chana dal
4 cups water
1 tsp ginger paste

Put the dal and ginger in the water, bring to a boil then allow to simmer under cover for 20-25 minutes. Do not drain.

Peanut Sauce and Tofu

1 tablespoon oil
1 tsp mustard seed
1 tsp cumin seed
1 sprig curry leaves
1/2 small minced onion
1 large minced garlic clove
chilies to taste

1/3 cup peanut butter
juice of one lime
1/2 cup water

1 tub cubed soft tofu (save water)

Heat oil to sizzle hot, add mustard seeds and allow to pop. Reduce heat slightly and add cumin seeds, curry leaves, garlic and onion. Cook until onions are clear. Optional to remove curry sprig after sizzling for about three minutes. Mix peanut butter, hot water and lime juice, stir with a wisk and pour over seasonings. Add tofu cubes and the water they were packed in and bring to a gentle boil. Add cooked chana dal and heat through. Serve over rice noodles. Garnish with crushed peanuts and/or fresh coriander.

Sweet Potato Dal

I finally figured out what to do with some canned cut sweet potatoes we have had on our shelves since I-don’t-even-wanna-know. I think I invented this recipe although it is not that far off from some pumpkin dals that Ma Google told me about. It is very sweet, makes me and PJ think of holiday foods and just makes JL smile. It is almost like a chutney; would enhance anything you want sweetened. (I am going to mix some with some kheer for a late night snack tonight.) It is great with chapatis, would be good with thosai or even American-style pancakes. And it gives your house a wonderful holiday-ish smell. Who needs scented candles?

Sweet Potato Dal

1 15-oz can cut sweet potatoes (mine were lightly sweetened, but they wouldn’t have to be)
1 cup masoor (red) dal
water
small hunk minced fresh ginger
1 tablespoon garam masala
OPTIONAL: 1 tablespoon ghee

Drain sweet potatoes, preserving liquid. Mix liquid and enough water together to make three cups. Cook dal, sweet potatos, ghee and ginger in liquid over medium heat until it boils. Then reduce heat, cover and simmer for 20 minutes. Mix in garam masala and serve hot. Or cold. With anything. I am also considering making this recipe with raisins and/or apples. YUM.

2 Dals and a Squash

Once again I got a great recipe from Shyamala. I made her Chow Chow (Chayote Squash) Dal minus the hotter spices and chayote and plus a hard shell winter squash. If you want to know the difference between this dal and a kootu, and/or you like your dal spicey, definitely visit Shyamala’s post.

A Few Notes

On my squash substitution: I asked Ma Google about chayote squash and learned that while chayote resembles a thin-skinned summer squash; it is a harder variety, so takes a similar amount of time to a winter squash to cook. It worked out. The nutty flavor and variable texture–even before adding spices–was wonderful.

On sambar powder: I had to buy some sambar powder, for the first time, for this recipe. If I were going to give sambar powder a fusion name I would call it Indian chili powder. In fact, it starts with the same ingredients as chili powder–red pepper and cumin, and then pops up the distinctively Indian flavor with fenugreek, cardamom, coriander and cinnamon. In the end, I decided not to put sambar powder in the dal because it would have been too hot for JL. But it is easy enough to shake over any meal for taste. Right now I happen to be eating some spaghettios, vastly improved with sambar powder. And it is FABulous sprinkled on popcorn!

Respect your pressure cooker: I have my grandma’s pressure cooker, and vaguely knew that it was used for canning fruits and vegetables but not how or why. About a week ago; when making apple sauce, while IMing with a friend, I learned the embarrassingly doltish way that they are called PRESSURE cookers for a reason.

So what how did I display my ignorance? By unnecessarily deciding to make apple sauce, with the lid screwed on. (Apples cook quickly enough so there was no logical reason to do it under pressure.) When I went to check on the sauce, I simply took the lid off. POW! Hot apples flew everywhere–but fortunately not into my face or JL!

PJ respects these things. He has a rather traumatic memory of his adoptive mother’s experience with an expoding pressure cooker. She was making jam, and the valve got clogged with sugar: which literally turned the cooker into a bomb. It exploded and inflicted injuries which landed his mom in the hospital for a few days. Fortunately, PJ was not nearby. She was lucky not to be killed.

So while we were making this dal, PJ gave me lessons in slowly relieving the pressure by opening the valve first and allowing the steam to escape. Thank you hunny.

Pressure cookers are not all that necessary, really. They simply speed up the process of cooking. For this recipe, Shyamala explains that in a pressure cooker, you can create an environment in which a slower and faster cooking dal can be done at the same time. But you can also cook them separately–each in its own time–then mix them.

(I could have gotten off the hook. When I was done learning proper pressure cooker technique for this dal, I then accidentally destroyed the valve in the disposal. But being stubborn about learning a new cooking method: I got right on eBay and ordered me a new one!)

2 Dals and a Squash

Dal

1/2 cup tuvar (toor) dal
1/4 cup chana (chick pea) dal
2 cups winter squash, cut into small cubes
2-3 cups water

Masala

1 tablespoon ghee
1 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
4-5 curry leaves

2 small onions, chopped fine
8 oz can chopped tomatoes

1 tsp coriander powder
sambar powder to taste
salt to taste
coriander leaves for garnish

In the pressure cooker: Put two dals and squash in 3 cups water and heat at medium. After the gauge indicates that pressure is on, cook for 8-10 minutes.

On the stove: Put the tuvar/toor dal in 2 cups water on medium heat; bring to a boil, cover then simmer over low heat for about 20 minutes/or until mushy. Simultaneously, put the chana dal & squash in 1&1/2 cups water on medium heat; bring to a boil, cover then simmer over low heat for 25-30 minutes. The chana dal shouldn’t get mushy.

In a large pan or a wok, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds, cover and let them pop. Then put in the cumin seeds, curry leaves and fry for about 30 seconds. Add the onions, sauté until they are clear. Then add the tomatoes (without draining) and cover, cooking until heated throughout.

Stir in the coriander, salt and sambar powder and then add the cooked dal. Add salt to taste. You may need to add some water for desired consistency. Bring to a boil, then turn the heat down to a simmer and let it cook for 5 minutes.

Garnish with chopped coriander leaves and serve hot with chapatis or over steamed rice.

Kheer (Rice Pudding)

9/8/06 update: Below, I am adding my newly minted spin-off recipe for Kesar (Saffron) Kheer. In the Bhadam Kheer, I found that the saffron was unable to compete with the cardamom and almond extract, plus JL requested a more “white” (meaning bland) pudding. And so she shall have it.

Two of the recipes on this blog, this kheer recipe and khichari will be important transition food for our second child, soon to be adopted from India. I wish, how I wish, I had learned to make these dishes for JL. They would have comforted her and eased her transition greatly. But better late than never, and at least KN will benefit from the wisdom of our parenting experience. Not that it is hard to convince JL to eat kheer, as long as I call it pudding.

I adapted this recipe for Bhadam (Almond) Kheer from CuisineCuisine.com. We don’t have almond powder in the house, but we do have almond extract and rice flour for thickening.

Bhadam Kheer

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3&1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup rice flour
1/2 teaspoon almond extract
handful of raisins
1/2 teaspoon cardamom powder
2 cups cooked rice (great way to use leftover rice!)
slivered almonds for garnish
split cardamom pods for garnish

Heat milk, almond extract and rice powder in a heavy pan over medium heat for 15-18 minutes, stirring constantly. As it starts to thicken, add raisins, cardamom, saffron and rice. Stir rapidly until thick. Eat warm for serious comfort or chill for dessert. Can garnish servings with slivered almonds and/or split cardamom pods.

Kesar (Saffron) Kheer

1 14 oz can sweetened condensed milk
3&1/2 cups milk
1/2 cup rice flour
handful of raisins
2 cups rice, cooked with two pinches saffron
1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
saffron threads for garnish

Heat milk and rice powder in a heavy pan over medium heat for 15-18 minutes, stirring constantly. As it starts to thicken, add raisins, vanilla and rice. Stir until thick. Eat warm for serious comfort or chill for dessert. Can garnish servings with saffron threads.

Chapatis (Whole Wheat Flat Bread)

Since I started making chapatis, we buy a lot less bread. Once in awhile we even braid a chapati for shabbat! We buy the finely ground flour that is specified for chapatis but really any flour will work. We found that purely whole wheat chapatis were a bit grain intense for us, so we mix it with a little white flour. Chapatis are essentially the same as tortillas so–as I learned from my friend Durga, whose mom does this– you can also just buy and heat up tortillas for quick chapatis.

Cast iron is our preferred pan. We heat it to water-bouncy-hot. No need to grease the pan if it is well seasoned, though a light coat of ghee is always tasty.

I adapted this recipe from Indian Breads, Rice and Curries.

Chapatis

1&1/2 cups chapati flour
1/2 cup white flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ghee or oil
optional: 3 or so freshly squeezed garlic cloves
2/3 cup filtered/dechlorinated water

Mix the flours and salt together. I don’t sift but it is an option. Mix in oil and water until a soft dough forms. Knead lightly. Allow to rest for 20 minutes. Roll into a tube and cut into 6-8 sections. Flour your hands and make balls then roll them out to flat and thin, (6-8 inches across), lightly flouring the chapatis as you go. Fry on pan until the surface of the chapati bubbles then flip. I like to lightly brush the chapatis with ghee while they are hot.

A little salt sprinkled over the warm ghee makes the chapati quite edible without any fixings. JL loves them that way, or grilled with melted cheese. She helped the first couple of times we made them, then decided we were competent enough on our own.

Mango Love and Lassis (Mango Yogurt Smoothie)

I have had a couple of posts percolating about foods that would seem so basic and obvious to an experienced Indian cook that they seem lame. But I had to ask Ma Google how to manage a mango and make a chapati (next post), so I can’t be alone. Mangos and chapatis are JL’s exception to her rule that most Indian food is the food she ate as a baby, but now that she is big she doesn’t eat that stuff anymore (curried dal is proving to be the most challenging food to reintroduce–although sometimes I can hide it in a refried chapati!)

I had never eaten a mango before recently. I’d had mango flavored drinks and desserts but never thought much of them. Now like life before love with PJ and JL, I cannot remember life before mangos. They are sweet & sour and soothing, almost milky. Eating them can be a spiritual, dare I say even an erotic? experience.

Mangos are so versatile. Green mangos are often used in chutney or salsa and as a sour addition to dal. Mango powder is a souring spice that is made from dried green mango. At various stages of ripeness the flavor of a mango changes on a spectrum between puckery sour to heavenly sweet. The ripe ones have an antacid quality. Ripe mango is a great dessert after a spicy meal. I haven’t tried this yet, but I full intend to make mango pakoras. Let the Minnesota State Fair beat that!

To get a dessert level of sweetness, get a mango that is firm and keep it until it becomes slightly squishy. (You’ll have a large window of time: they have to be on the verge of rotting before they start tasting bad.)

There are many ways to eat a mango. The key is to keep them in their skin while you handle them, or as my friend Michelle puns: it’s all over. The first time I tried to peel and chop a mango, I had slippery sliding fireworks in my kitchen. I am not exaggerating, the pieces literally shot out of my hands.

The tidiest method is to cube them. A very ripe mango can be sliced along the pit on each side (with a serrated knife) and scooped with a spoon. There is no neat way to suck the pulp off the pit but it sure is fun. JL and I love to cut the top off a ripe mango and just squeeze and suck the pulp out the top.

I’ve been making mango lassis (yogurt smoothies) fairly frequently this summer and have gradually perfected this recipe to my taste. At first I was a purist, using fresh mango, but ultimately decided that sweetened canned pulp is just fine.

Mango Lassi

1 cup plain yogurt
1/2 cup canned sweetened mango pulp (or one cubed mango)
1/4 cup apple juice
1 tsp vanilla
dash cardamom powder
dash ginger powder
dash cinnamon
1 cup ice cubes

Put it all in the blender and whir at chopped ice speed until smooth. If it is not quite sweet enough I add splenda to taste.

Pour into a tall glass and top with a bit of nutmeg. Go to heaven, directly to heaven, do not pass go.