An Invitation to Indian Cooking - Madhur Jaffrey [94]
Hot chana dal with potatoes
SERVES 4
This is a hot (i.e., not cold) version of the preceding recipe.
½ cup chana dal, cleaned and washed
1 teaspoon salt
4 tablespoons vegetable oil
¼ teaspoon black mustard seeds
¼ teaspoon whole cumin seeds
10 fenugreek seeds
2 fresh green chilies (as an alternative, use ⅛–¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper)
1 medium-sized onion, peeled and chopped
A piece of fresh ginger, about ¾ inch square, peeled and grated
4 new potatoes, boiled and diced into ½-inch cubes
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground pepper
2 tablespoons lemon juice, or 3 tablespoons tamarind paste
Put the dal to boil with 3 cups of water and ½ teaspoon of the salt. Cover, lower heat, and simmer gently for 1 hour. Drain and set aside.
In a 10-inch skillet, heat the oil over a medium-high flame. When hot, put in the mustard, cumin, and fenugreek seeds. In a few seconds, as soon as the cumin and fenugreek seeds darken and the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the green chilies. Turn them over once (this will take another second), then put in the chopped onion and grated ginger. Stir and fry the onions for 4 to 5 minutes. Now put in all the remaining ingredients, i.e., the boiled dal and diced potatoes, ½ teaspoon salt, the pepper, cayenne, if you are using it, and lemon juice or tamarind paste. Mix well and cook over medium flame for 5 minutes, stirring frequently but gently.
To serve: Serve with chapatis, bhaturas, or parathas and a yogurt relish. Any meat, chicken, or fish dish can be served with it as well.
Chana dal cooked with lamb
SERVES 6
I use meat from shoulder of lamb for this recipe, but you could use leg of lamb or stewing beef. The chana dal cooks in an hour, or a bit less, so you will have to adjust the time when you put it in. If you use stewing lamb or beef, cook the meat for 1½ hours and then add the dal.
2–2½ pounds boned meat from shoulder of lamb, cut into 1–1½-inch cubes
5 medium-sized onions (1 peeled and chopped, 4 halved and sliced into fine half-rings)
5 cloves garlic, peeled and chopped
A piece of fresh ginger, about 1 inch cube, peeled and chopped
10 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoons ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
3 tablespoons tomato sauce
¼ teaspoon ground mace
¼ teaspoon ground nutmeg
¼ teaspoon ground cinnamon
¼ teaspoon ground cloves
1½ teaspoons salt (or as desired)
⅛ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
¼–½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
¾ cup chana dal, cleaned and washed
2 tablespoons lemon juice
GARNISH
3 tablespoons chopped Chinese parsley (coriander greens or cilantro)
Pat the meat pieces dry with a paper towel. Set aside.
Put the 1 chopped onion, garlic, and ginger into container of an electric blender. Add 4 tablespoons water and blend at high speed until you have a smooth paste.
Heat the oil in a 10-inch heavy-bottomed casserole-type pot, over medium-high flame. Put in the 4 sliced onions and fry them, stirring, for 15 to 20 minutes, or until they are a darkish brown and crisp. Remove them with a slotted spoon and spread on a paper towel.
Drop 7 or 8 pieces of meat at a time in the onion-flavored oil and brown them well over high heat on all sides. Remove each batch as it gets done. When all the meat has browned, turn off the heat under the pot.
When the remaining oil has cooled a bit, pour in the paste from the electric blender. Stir it well, mixing it with the juices in the pot. Turn up the heat and fry the paste, stirring all the time, 8 to 10 minutes or until it has browned. Now lower heat and add, at intervals, frying and stirring, the coriander, cumin, and turmeric; after a minute or two, the tomato sauce; and after another minute, the mace, nutmeg, cinnamon, and cloves. Finally, after 5 minutes, add 1¼ cups water, salt, black pepper, cayenne, the browned meat, and the cleaned and washed chana dal. Bring to a boil. Cover, lower heat, and simmer for 1 hour, stirring gently every 10 minutes or so. Do not let the grains of dal break.
When done, add the lemon juice and