Indian lentils, Masoor Dal.
Indian Lentils, Masoor dal
Indian food is my passion and this passion runs through all the women in my family in Ireland. Weird, I know. My Aunty Moira lived beside some Indian Diplomat in Dublin in the ’60s. And, apparently after dining with them one night, their cook took her under her wing and taught her how to make curry. She passed on her skills to some of her sisters and her nieces, my sisters. As soon as I was old enough, I too learned to cook Indian food. Sharwood’s curry powder was King of the pantry back then and it makes a fine tasting curry if you are in a hurry.
When I moved to California, I found a wonderful hole-in-the-wall spice store on Venice Boulevard called “India’s Sweets and Spices.” My curries transcended to a whole new level. I was like a kid in a sweet shop, heady with the aromatic scents that permeated the air. Sacks of fragrant Basmati rice were stacked on the floor and a dazzling array of whole spices, like green and black cardamon pods that hold the wee seeds with their exotic taste. Not easy to describe it, but when I bit down on a seed an explosion of lemony, eucalyptus and honey delighted my palate and transported me to another world.
Cardamon is the seed of a tropical fruit in the ginger family and is used in Ayurvedic medicine. The Egyptians chewed the seed to whiten their teeth and freshen their breath. Check out this link on Cardamon. It is the third most expensive spice in the world, saffron and vanilla being the other two.
I use them in savory dishes and curries, and sweet dishes like Indian rice pudding.
Indian lentils, Masoor dal. A dal is a dish made with lentils. It can be a main dish for vegetarians or vegans, or a side to accompany a variety of meats and veggie curries. There are so many combinations and lentils to choose from that I am sharing this easy recipe as a good start to cooking with lentils and spice. It is a gift to the taste buds. You can use ground spice if you can’t find whole. I grind my spices from the whole seed in a coffee grinder I keep especially for spices.
- 1/2 pound red split lentils
- 1 medium onion sliced thinly
- 2 -3 cloves of garlic chopped
- 1 green or red chili chopped
- 2 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp whole cumin
- 2 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder
- 4 cloves
- 4 cardamon removed from pod
- 1 stick of cinnamon
- 1 tsp Himalayan fine salt
- 2 oz unsweetened coconut flakes (or sweetened)
- 1 -2 Tbs coconut oil
- 2 tomatoes
- fresh cilantro for garnish
- Wash the lentils well with plenty of water till they run clear, then put into a saucepan and add enough cold water to cover. Bring to boil then simmer till lentils are soft.
- Meanwhile add the coconut oil to a big frying pan, and fry the onions till they soften.
- Add garlic, chili and cumin seeds and cook for a couple of minutes.
- Add the coriander, ground cumin, turmeric and chili powder, mix well.
- Add the cloves cardamon and cinnamon stick.
- Add the cooked lentils together with any liquid they have been cooking in.
- Stir quickly to ensure the spices mix well into the lentils, add more water if necessary this dish should be fairly liquid. like a Pease pudding, Add the salt and coconut flakes and mix well and continue to cook for 5 minutes or so. taste and add more salt if needed.
- Just before serving chop the tomatoes into quarters and add to the dal.
- Scatter the cilantro leaves to garnish.
Delicious. Serve with basmati rice, naan bread, fried poppadum or chapatti.
Incredibly unusual to be into Indian food in the 60s in Ireland. Vesta tinned curry would have been the height of most people’s experience
I know it’s hard to imagine Grainne. My mother did not cook Indian food back then but loved to eat it.
Aunty Moira was the sophisticated girl in the family. I have some wonderful stories about growing up in Ireland in my new cookbook, accompanied by a recipe that I am diligently working on.
Thank for your comment.
Hi Lou, made your dal yesterday, it was great, I didnt have the coconut flakes put extra coconut milk in, I’ll get the flakes next time.
The first Indian meal I had was in 1960 or 61, Auntie Eithne and Liam took me to ‘The New Delhi’ at the top of Camden Street. Years later it was our late night place for the extra drink(under the table) I’m sure its long gone now. The first time I had Italian, spaghetti bol, was in a restaurant at the top of Grafton Street. Auntie Moira took me, late 50s I think. Before that I thought fish and chips were Italian. Going to make ‘my’ brown bread today, havent made it in years.
Hi Mairead,so happy you liked the dal. I’m sure the coconut milk is nice and creamy in it. Thanks for the bit of history it must of been a real exotic taste sensation for you back then. I’m cracking up here laughing about the fish and chips and you thinking it was Italian food. I wonder why the Italian moved to Ireland and opened up fish and chip shops? I shall have to research.
Your brown bread is a big hit over here, sis. Thanks for the recipe. love Lou
Hi Louise, seeing that everybody is going down memory lane, I thought I’d join you all. The place were I grew up and still live, is, as I said before off the beaten track by many miles. We grew up running wild, like the landscape we’ve been blessed with. My mother cooked plain, our father not at all. But we loved to sit around and dream of places with all the spices beyond. It drove our daddy mad, he thought the world was no further than the county line. Our nearest neighbour, family Van Zanht were different, they knew how to cook. The mother was a small woman with hair to her waist,they called her ‘Golden Feather’ she got the name for the way she cooked. It was said back then that she had fallen for a man that wasn’t from these parts. That time it was very unusual, but life is always good for a surprise. Mrs Van Zanht’s luck was from New York, he worn his life on his shoulder tied up in a cloth bag. What was different about him we’re told, was not his manner but his hair. He wore it like a turban, way high. The contents of his bag was where the magic would come from. He taught her all his cooking skills,which she handed down to her girls. Only the other day while eating your recipe, which was amazing, we talked about how Mr Van Zanht changed us all through his love of food. In some way Louise you are walking in his foot steps. We all love your blog….keep on walking!
Karl what a wonderful story and teller you are, I can visualize it all. So happy you liked the curried lentils.
That’s another one I have to make!! Love reading all these stories about my great aunties. xo