So if you guys remember back to my 1st blog post I touched on my psychopathic perfectionist type A tendencies and my fear of failure. My fiance has been so amazing in helping me try new things and see failure as a learning experience, instead of breaking down, having a panic attack and turning into a tornado of swear words and violence. Well, lets just say, this week put my new zen and positive outlook to the test.
I have been trying learn some Punjabi recipes that my soon to be husband enjoys and reminds him of his childhood and family. Now, I think I am a pretty decent cook. I have always loved cooking, when I make meals for people they usually don’t spit them out, and they always look somewhat appealing. But this is just a whole new world. I have tried a few recipes that Maan has requested, and they have just NOT worked out. My poor fiance the guinea pig has been subjected to Tandoori chicken that tasted like it was cooked in a salt bath, Channa Masala (a delicious chickpea dish) that was overcooked to the point of destruction, and more. Needless to say I was defeated. So I took a few days away from the kitchen, tried to regroup, and then it came to me…DAL! Dal is a delicious lentil soup that is of the favorite things my inlaws have ever made for me. And I mean…It’s a soup, what could go wrong?
Well, it turned out things could go wrong, even with soup. It tasted nothing like amazing, warming, filling, slightly spicy soup that I have had at my in laws house. But, interestingly enough, it did make a pretty tasty just regular lentil stew. So as I go back to my in laws house for more training, I thought I would still share this recipe which I am now calling a curried lentil stew. It would be a great filling fall soup, and it still tastes amazing with a nice warmed up and buttered piece of naan bread!
Curried Lentil Stew
Ingredients
1 16oz bag of lentils
1 1/2 tablespoon unsalted butter
1 large white onion, finally chopped
4 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon ginger, finally chopped
3 small red chilies, finally chopped
2 teaspoons indian curry spice
2 teaspoons ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons cayenne pepper
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2 cans 15 oz diced tomato
5-6 cups cold water
salt and pepper to taste
Directions
- In a large pot over low-medium heat, add the butter to melt. Add the onion and cook, stirring until very soft about 5 minutes
- Add the garlic, ginger and fresh chillis and cook for 1 minute
- Add the spices; curry, coriander, turmeric, cumin, cinnamon and cayenne Stir for about 30 seconds
- Add the tomato and the lentils, stir until nicely coated
- Add 6 cups water, bring to a boil and lower the heat to a simmer. Cook, covered for about 20-30 minutes until lentils are very soft and the stew is thick, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking and adding a little extra water if needed. Season to taste again with all of the spices before. Serve with buttered Naan
- Extra Note: I have found that putting this soup in Tupperware and letting it sit in the fridge overnight and then reheating it the next day really helps develop the flavors, so I would recommend that!
So at the end of the day, no, this is not Dal. This is not the indian soup that I wanted to make. But I would eat it anytime in the fall or winter with some Naan or bread and be completely happy! I will go back to my inlaws and try to perfect the actual Dal recipe, and report back to you guys. In the meantime, let me know if you have any questions!
Quote of the Day:
“Most great people have attained their greatest success just one step beyond their greatest failure”
– Napoleon Hill