My cousin Michelle makes the best daal I have ever tasted! Sorry Mom, sorry high end restaurants in India … but hands down, her daal remains unrivalled!
Michelle’s Daal – actually cooked by her & photographed. Thanks Michy!
I find daal quick, easy and pretty tasty, so it’s become my go to meal whenever I have no idea what to make for dinner. Though mine never quite turns out like Michelle’s daal, almost every time I make it, the very scent of sautéeing mustard seeds brings me back to 2002. I am transported to Michelle’s kitchen, watching her slice up onions and tomatoes and add pinches of spices.
Now chapatis on the other hand … well those were a whole different ballgame. She has since mastered the art of the perfectly round chapati after countless breakfast, lunch and dinner rollings, but at the time, the drama of the day was her lamenting over the fact that she couldn’t get them round enough, and could you possibly imagine having to serve your soon-to-be mother in law with big, fat squares?!
Are these round enough?
No big deal you think? … I assure you, many a young girl has been petrified at the thought of having to serve her south Indian mother in-law a meal …
The idea of it being imperative to roll out perfectly round chapatis always stuck with me and I sort of made it my mission to develop that ability … God forbid I ever got myself into the same situation. So although I still can’t replicate her daal, I’m pretty pleased with my rolling pin skills.
A while back, craving some good, Indian food, I decided to make a feast. I decided on Chole (probably my favourite Indian vegetarian dish, other than Michelle’s daal, of course!), Kasoori Methi potatoes, spicy Gobi and Haryali chicken. The haryali chicken might have been a little bit ambitious … but in all, it turned out pretty well, and since I was serving it to my appreciative and ‘limited knowledge of Indian food’ boyfriend, he thought it was great.
My Indian feast
Sure there wasn’t any daal involved, but the flavours brought me back in time to a Cochin kitchen, cooking meals with my cousin, catching mad about you re-runs, watching a lightening storm beyond words and beyond beautiful and two young girls chatting about life & love …
Michelle’s Daal Recipe
- 1 c red split lentils (daal)
- pinch of turmeric
- 1 clove garlic
- 1-2 tbsp oil
- 1/2 tsp mustard seeds
- 1/2 cumin seeds or fenugreek seeds
- 1 onion sliced finely
- a few curry leaves
- 1-2 tomatoes diced
- 1/4 tsp ground cumin
- small piece of finely chopped ginger
- dried green or red chillie (optional)
- salt to taste
- butter/ghee to taste
- 1 tbsp chopped fresh coriander (optional)
Thoroughly wash lentils changing the water several times. In a pot, cover lentils with boiling water, add the turmeric, 1 whole clove of garlic and continue to boil until lentils are mushy (about 10-15 mins). Add more water as necessary to keep water from drying up and to achieve the consistency you like. When lentils have cooked, remove garlic clove and set aside.
Once seeds have spluttered and onions have been carmelized, add the tomatoes etc.
To make the “Tadak” or seasoning: In a large pan, heat oil, add mustard seeds and cumin seeds or fenugreek seeds and allow them to splutter (don’t stand too close as the seeds jump a little bit). Add chillies if using and fry quickly. Add finely chopped ginger and onions and sprinkle with salt to help onions caramelize quickly. When the onions are just brown add the ground cumin and curry leaves and fry gently mixing all together. Add the chopped tomato and fry until the oil separates ( about 5 mins. or more). Add the cooked daal to the same pan and mix together well. Add a tbsp of ghee or butter on top if desired and garnish with fresh green coriander.
Enjoy!
If you are in the mood to cook something else Indian, check out this site: http://www.manjulaskitchen.com/
I discovered it awhile ago – it has great vegetarian recipes and fun tutorials, and Manjula is so awesome to watch!
sucrésalédeluxe 