Gingered Red Lentils With Garlic
At the first Jewish Soul Food Supper Club, we made Indian Matzo Ball Soup from the cookbook 660 Curries. My sister recently got me a copy of that cookbook as a gift, and on Sunday night I made one of the recipes she personally suggested.
Gingered Red Lentils with Garlic
1 cup skinned split brown lentils
1 small red onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 slices fresh ginger, about 2 inches by 1 inch by 1/8 inch
2 fresh green Thai, cayenne or serrano chiles, stems removed (I used serrano)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried red thai or cayenne chiles (I used Thai)
1 medium size tomato, cored and chopped fine
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1. Put lentils in a put. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the onion, garlic, ginger and fresh chiles in food processor. Mince using pulsing action; don't let it go too watery.
4. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and dried chiles and cook until chiles blacken and seeds turn reddish brown and smelly nutty, about 10 seconds.
5. Immediately add onion blend, reduce heat to medium and stir-fry until the mixture is light brown around the edges, 3-5 minutes.
6. Stir in the tomato, salt and turmeric. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the tomato softens, about 3-6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.
7. Stir the sauce into the cooked lentils. Cover the pan and simmer over medium heat until the flavors mingle, about 5 minutes.
First off, the recipe says you can use Ghee or canola oil. I was too lazy to make Ghee, which rshruti tells me means that I was very lazy indeed, so I'll try that next time. Second, the original recipe had all these instructions for rinsing the lentils and such. I started using them, but I didn't see any cloudiness in the water or foam while boiling. Apparently I've got clean lentils.
This made a delicious, albeit somewhat fiery dish. It doesn't make too much (1 cup of lentils doesn't go too far) but it easily took care of a dinner and a few lunches. I look forward to trying out the rest of the book.
Gingered Red Lentils with Garlic
1 cup skinned split brown lentils
1 small red onion, chopped
4 large cloves garlic, chopped
4 slices fresh ginger, about 2 inches by 1 inch by 1/8 inch
2 fresh green Thai, cayenne or serrano chiles, stems removed (I used serrano)
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 dried red thai or cayenne chiles (I used Thai)
1 medium size tomato, cored and chopped fine
1 tsp coarse kosher salt
1/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/4 cup finely chopped fresh cilantro
1. Put lentils in a put. Add 3 cups water and bring to a boil over medium heat.
2. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover and simmer, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are tender, 18 to 20 minutes.
3. Meanwhile, combine the onion, garlic, ginger and fresh chiles in food processor. Mince using pulsing action; don't let it go too watery.
4. Heat oil in a small skillet over medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and dried chiles and cook until chiles blacken and seeds turn reddish brown and smelly nutty, about 10 seconds.
5. Immediately add onion blend, reduce heat to medium and stir-fry until the mixture is light brown around the edges, 3-5 minutes.
6. Stir in the tomato, salt and turmeric. Simmer, uncovered, stirring occasionally until the tomato softens, about 3-6 minutes. Stir in the cilantro.
7. Stir the sauce into the cooked lentils. Cover the pan and simmer over medium heat until the flavors mingle, about 5 minutes.
First off, the recipe says you can use Ghee or canola oil. I was too lazy to make Ghee, which rshruti tells me means that I was very lazy indeed, so I'll try that next time. Second, the original recipe had all these instructions for rinsing the lentils and such. I started using them, but I didn't see any cloudiness in the water or foam while boiling. Apparently I've got clean lentils.
This made a delicious, albeit somewhat fiery dish. It doesn't make too much (1 cup of lentils doesn't go too far) but it easily took care of a dinner and a few lunches. I look forward to trying out the rest of the book.