recently…

Not really any new recipes lately that I’ve documented yet. More to come !

 

DAL, two recipes

Dal, lentils and beans all in the same catagory, recipes abound and as probably you have researched, the more research yeilds that the recipe usually was what the cook has on hand especially as to the spicing of the dish. Here’s one from the Bob’s Red Mill bag of Dal followed by the Milk Street recipe for Turkish Red Lentil Soup.

New Delhi Dal

 

I utilized curry powder in place of the tumeric. Some ground cloves sufficed for the 12 whole cloved required. (have to order some cloves)

Boiling the beans, alot of water! these beans will soak up quite a bit of liquid. This is 1/2 the recipe.

most dal recipes require an addition to be added to the beans once cooked

mash them and then add the oil spice mixture

Basicallly I ate these alone to get a taste for the beans, they would make a good spread for chips or an addition to rice.

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A Turkish Red Lentil Soup with Aleppo Pepper

 Turkish Red Lentil Soup

from 177 milk street.com

Are we ready ? I used the Bob’s Red Mill orange/yellow dal.

the sweating of the onions

Add the garlic for about 30 seconds, to the onions, then add the rest of the ingriedents, minus the water (broth), lentils and rice. cook up for about a minute.

 

……..in go the beans, rice and water

a lively simmer, cook covered about 30 minutes, the rice will break down somewhat adding to the texture, I cooked leaving the beans at the aldenti stage.

I skipped the addition of the Aleppo pepper since I didn’t want to search it out at this time , I added a bit of finely chopped dried pepper that are sitting on the windows sill drying out from green to a shrivled red, some moderate heat in the background.

Even though there is a lot of paprikia, which I though would be overpowering, the balance is delicious and the beans have a pasta like texture. The tomato paste smooths it out. My best use of the dal so far. No mint or lemon wedges served. 

Stew meat with lentils and spicy tomato sauce

Made with meat from the previous post. 

Cook an amount of lentils as necessary for a serving.

Reheat meat with tomato sauce and lentils. I made my batch of Sunday tomato sauce spicy with hot red pepper flakes and smoked hot pepper flakes with a small amount of vegetables, when cooked, processed with an immersion blender.

Lentils provide a alternative to pasta or rice.

Lamb shack with lentils and vegetables

Sauté seasoned, peeled, cut turnip and diced  leeks .

Add a cup of lentils

Brown a lamb shank (or two if there are other diners who prefer lamb) not shown.

Set the lamb shack aside after browning and deglaze pan with red wine (or mead).

Bring to a boil and  scrap the pan of browned bits.

Measure the reduction and add water to measure about 2 and 1/2 cups.

Pour into pan and add the lamb shank.

Taste and season the broth to your preference.

Salt, pepper , turmeric, hot pepper flakes etc.

Bring to a boil, cover, simmer, or place in a oven , 325 degrees for about 45 minutes.

The finished meal , most of the water will be absorbed by the lentils.

A hearty, stew like meal. Barley was my second choice other than lentils.

lentils with tomato sauce

Lentils are a very flexible food to cook , this recipe I used a tomato based sauce. Like bulgar wheat, I enjoy lentils and should utilize them more as a meal or side dish. Can be used in place of pasta, rice, potato.
Smoked Tabasco peppers from the garden.

Smoking Tabasco peppers on the grill using wood pellets and charcoal.
Drafted this post in 2014 , just getting around to posting it.