"Jon's Dal" ॐ Curried Red Lentils

"I claim no ownership over this dal." - JP

This is a pretty traditional way of making this dish. Enjoy!

ingredients:

1.5 cups red lentils (masoor dal)
1 teaspoon turmeric
3 bay leaves
4 cups water

Rinse lentils well. Add water turmeric and bay leaves. Bring to a simmer in a partly covered pot (to prevent bubbling). Simmer until lentils are cooked. Most of the liquid should be evaporated.

While lentils are cooking, add to a medium pan:

1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
1-2 tablespoons oil, or ghee

Heat slowly. When mustard seeds start to pop, add:

1 finely chopped onion
3 cloves of minced garlic

When onions are translucent add:

1 cup chopped tomato (or 1 12oz can of chopped tomato)
1 tablespoon of grated ginger

Cook for a few more minutes, stirring occasionally.


Here, to make it spicy, you may optionally add:

chopped fresh chili or crushed red pepper

Add everything in pan to the cooked lentils pot.

You can even add it to the lentils while they are still cooking.

To everything add:

2 tablespoons of curry powder
salt to taste

Garnish with:

fresh cilantro


Tips:

I have also added other vegetable to this dish like potatoes, carrots, greens.

I have also excluded the tomatoes for people who are sensitive to acidic foods.

If you don't eat garlic or onions try substituting them with asafoetida.

You can easily make this into a soup by adding more water.

Experiment with consistency by adjusting the water content.

Try other types of lentils or even mung beans. YUM!

Namaste ॐ

Indian Samosa Casserole

Adapted from vegetariantimes.com Serves 6

Crust
* 1/2 cup all-purpose flour
* 1/2 cup whole-wheat pastry flour
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 2 Tbs. vegetable oil

Filling
* 1 Tbs. black or yellow mustard seeds
* 1 tsp. curry powder
* 1 tsp. ground ginger
* 1/2 tsp. ground cumin
* 1/8 tsp. red pepper flakes, optional
* 5 medium potatoes, peeled and quartered (1 1/4 lb.)
* 1 1/2 tsp. vegetable oil
* 1 medium onion, diced (1 cup)
* 1 medium carrot, diced (1/2 cup)
* 3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbs.)
* 1 cup frozen peas
* 1 cup low-sodium vegetable broth
* 2 tsp. agave nectar or sugar
* 2 Tbs. soymilk

Directions
1. To make Crust: Preheat oven to 375°F. Whisk together flours and salt in bowl. Stir in oil until clumps form. Add 6 to 10 Tbs. cold water, 1 Tbs. at a time, until dough holds together. Shape into ball, cover with damp towel, and set aside.

2. To make Filling: Stir together mustard seeds, curry, ginger, cumin, and red pepper flakes, if using, in bowl; set aside.

3. Cook potatoes in boiling salted water 15 minutes, or until tender. Drain, return to pot, and mash, leaving small chunks.

4. Heat oil in skillet over medium heat. Add onion, carrot, and garlic, and sauté 5 minutes, or until carrot is tender. Move onion mixture to side of pan, and add mustard seed mixture in center. Toast 30 seconds. Stir in peas and broth. Fold onion mixture into potato mixture; stir in agave nectar. Season with salt and pepper, if desired. Spread Filling in 9-inch pie pan. Set aside.

5. Roll out Crust dough to 11-inch circle on floured work surface. Cover Filling with dough, pressing down to make sure no air pockets remain. Trim away excess dough, and crimp edges with fingers. Cut X in center to vent steam; brush with soymilk just before baking. Place pie on baking sheet, and bake 40 to 50 minutes, or until crust is golden. Let stand 5 minutes before serving.

The photo above was taken by a recent retreat attendee. Feel free to browse more photos of some of the colorful dishes from this retreat in her gallery.