Subject: LACTO: Creamy Dal and Aloo Gobi Sorta (repost)

From: [email-masked] (Chuck Narad)
Date: Fri, 25 Mar 1994 10:06:19 GMT

Post thanksgiving cookin' blues.  After reheating stuffed squash, yams,
potatoes, and stuffed pumpkin in creative ways for two days, it was
time to make something different.  My friends' kitchen didn't have
quite the right spices, but fortunately I was attempting to imitate a
cooking style that I haven't quite grasped anyway.  Somehow it
worked...

        Creamy Dal
        ----------

        1/2 cup yellow split peas
        1/2 cup lentils
        4 cups water
        1 small onion, chopped
        3 cloves garlic, minced
        3 TBS unsalted butter (or ghee)(or peanut oil)
        chili powder
        cayenne pepper
        cumin powder
        1/2 cup sour cream

Melt butter over medium heat.  Add about 1 tsp each of
chili powder, cayenne, and cumin, and stir for a couple
of minutes.  Add the split peas, and cook for about 10 - 15 minutes
until they start popping.  Add the onion and garlic, saute
until the onions are soft.  Add lentils and water, and simmer (covered)
stirring occassionally until the lentils are soft; add more
water as needed.  Add the sour cream and serve.

        Aloo Gobi (sorta)
        --------------
        1/2 head of cauliflower, separated into florets
        1 head of broccoli, separated into florets
        broccoli stem, split and sliced
        2 potatoes, peeled and cubed large
        1 medium onion, chopped
        3 cloves garlic, minced
        1 TBS cumin powder
        2 TBS minced fresh ginger
        1/2 tsp ground allspice
        1/2 tsp black pepper
        1/2 tsp cayenne
        2 TBS olive oil (or ghee)
        water
        white wine
        1/4 cup raisins
        1/4 cup sunflower seeds
        1/4 cup roasted red peppers

Heat the olive oil in a deep pan at medium-high.  Add allspice and
cumin.  Saute the onion and garlic until soft.  Add some white wine,
the sunflower seeds, and the ginger, and stir regularly.  As the wine
boils off, add a little more; alternate between a splash of wine and a
splash of water throughout the cooking.  Make sure that the cook
gets only wine internally.

Next, add the potatoes and more liquid; keep stirring.  After about
5-10 minutes add the cauliflower and rasisins; after 10 minutes more add
the broccoli and red peppers.  Keep stirring and keep adding liquids.  When
the broccoli is soft, add the black pepper and cayenne.

Serve the dal and the vegetables over basmati rice, with a side
of yogurt and some chapatis or tortillas.

--------------------------------------
Chuck Narad -- diver/adventurer/engineer