Topic: lentil curry?

[Secret Santa]

I like dhansak, wife and kiddo not so much.

And was their dislike texture based because of the lentils?

 

I am going to try making a curry lentil soup at some point just to see if it's an inherent texture thing!

But what is curry lentil soup if not daal?

Also I had a thought. How about precooking and then blending the lentils before adding them to whatever curry dish you're making. I've never tried it but perhaps the extra blending will alter the texture to their taste?

[mickdabass]

My first introduction to dal was in Ahmedabad, India. Dal Makhani is a wonderful, buttery dish of black Urad dal and not dry at all.  I recently made this ‘house dal’ from the Dishoom cook book. It’s an investment in time, takes 4-5 hours but mostly hands off.  In India they cook it 24 hours.
Perfect with naan, although I didn’t have any.
I bet it would pressure cook easily.  Not a ‘curry’ but worth a try.

Robbo

Made this yesterday. Never been a big fan of lentils etc but really enjoyed it. Tasted like a sort of posh beans on toast - especially when I slightly overcooked the chapati. I shall definitely make this again

Regards

Mick

[livo]

Posh beans on toast.  You've got me.

[tempest63]

My wife and son don't like tarka dal - they find it "too dry".

I was wondering if anyone had suggestions for a lentil curry that I could cook instead of tarka dal?

Kabuli Chana recipe from Mrs Balbir Singh's Indian Cookery. It is, without doubt, the best Dhal Recipe that I have in my repetoire and goes down very well with guests as a side dish at any dinner party.

Chana Dhal (to be started the day before it is required)
250g Chana Dhal
720ml water
1.5 teaspoons salt
4 green chillies, 2 whole and 2 chopped
1 inch piece of cinnamon
Seeds of 3 brown cardamoms
4 cloves
0.5 teaspoons cumin seeds
2 teaspoons coriander seeds
15g fresh root ginger finely chopped
8 cloves garlic, chopped
80g ghee
0.5 teaspoon red chilli powder
1 small onion finely chopped, about 160g before peeling
2 to 3 firm tomatoes roughly chopped (I use plum tomatoes)
0.5 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons chopped fresh coriander

Place the Dhal in a large jug and fill with water, swill around until the water turns very milky then drain. Repeat until the water is reasonably clear, drain the Dhal and cover with 720ml of fresh water and leave to stand overnight.

Break up the cinnamon stick and place it in a hot dry frying pan with the cardamom seeds, cloves, cumin and coriander seeds. Dry fry over a medium heat for a few minutes until they become aromatic; take care not to let them burn. Transfer to a pestle and mortar or a spice mill and grind to a fine powder. To the ground spices add the chopped chillies, ginger and garlic and enough water to grind or process to a paste.

Place the Dhal and its soaking water into a saucepan with the two whole chillies and a teaspoon of salt and bring to a simmer. Remove any scum that rises to the top and simmer covered until the Dhal is tender but retains a little bite (al-dente).

Drain the Dhal reserving the stock that has formed, wipe out the saucepan and add the ghee. When it is hot add the chopped onion and fry until it is golden. Remove the pan from the heat and add the red chilli powder. Stir until it is fully incorporated then return the pan to the heat. Gradually add two tablespoons of water, a little at a time allowing it to bubble up and cook off each time.

Add the spice paste and fry for five minutes until the raw smell is cooked out and the ghee separates and rises to the top of the masala. Add the roughly chopped tomatoes and stir them in. Cover the pan and let the tomatoes simmer until they break down and form a homogenous mixture with the masala.

Add the boiled Dhal and stir to mix thoroughly with the masala. Stir over a medium heat for ten minutes gradually incorporating the stock. Cover and simmer over a low heat for twenty minutes. Check for seasoning and add the remaining salt as required. Sprinkle with garam masala and chopped fresh coriander then serve.

A pinch of Asafoetida in the hot ghee before adding the onion is supposed to aid digestion of the dhal.

[livo]

I've made a batch of Dahl Makhani yesterday and I did a bit of research before going ahead.  I read something interesting that I'd not considered and just wonder if it may be part of the "dry" issue.  One blog site I was looking at mentioned the need to use "fresh" lentils otherwise they take too long to cook completely.  I've had containers of red and green lentils put away in the cupboard for years and always just assumed that they would be ok.  Apparently not, and the same applies for Red Kidney (and other) dried beans as well.

There is an element of truth is this as the dried red beans I used in the Makhani were about 2 years in the cupboard at least and even after overnight soaking and 25 minutes in the Instant Pot under pressure, they remained very firm and "dry".  The fresh Urad Dahl on the other hand cooked as expected.

[Peripatetic Phil]

Vineet Bhatia’s take on these dishes —