This dal is not the prettiest but I turned out really tasty. I made a cashew cream to add richness. (Will explain the cooking process in the comments) Cashew cream was easy to make and a good sub for coconut milk. Basmati cooked with a bay leaf to serve.
Cabbage slaw with white wine vinegar, lime, olive oil and Kashmiri chilies
Strawberries for dessert
Salad with leftover chicken meatballs, white beans, roasted peppers, tomatoes, and cucumber. With a homemade dressing and chimichurri on the meatballs
Breakfast with red apricots, plain Greek yogurt, almonds, paleo granola.
by PlantedinCA
2 Comments
🤤🤤🤤
Cashew cream [recipe](https://minimalistbaker.com/how-to-make-cashew-cream/). This was so easy to make. And way more Mediterranean diet friendly than actual cream. 😊
I have made many variations on lentil curries over the years. And I was sort of inspired to make a dal makani, but I really wanted something a bit more spicy. I am only describing a method here, I didn’t follow a recipe.
Spices:
Cumin seeds
Mustard seeds
Fennel seeds
A half a dried sivathei chilie (this is a super hot one)
Garlic powder
Ginger powder
Kashmiri chili
Kaffir lime leaf (so not traditional)
Other ingredients:
1/2 chopped onion
8 cloves of chopped garlic
4 Frozen grated ginger cubes (Dorot ginger and garlic are always in my freezer)
Tomato paste
1/2 cup of whole peeled tomatoes (that was how much I had leftover. More would have been fine).
Split favas
Black lentils (I did a 2:1 ratio of lentils to favas, one cup of beans total)
Here is the process:
1. Heat the whole spices and the chili in some avocado oil over medium low heat until you smell the mustard seeds and hear a little popping. I used equal parts of the cumin and mustard seeds and 1/2 as much fennel since I wasn’t sure how it would go. So for my roughly one cup of beans it was an around 1.5 teaspoons of cumin and mustard seeds. That felt like enough spice for the background. You can obviously use as many or as few chilies as you like. My batch is spicy!🌶️
2. Sautée onions with the dried spices: add in ginger and garlic when they are soft and cook for another 2 minutes or so
3. Add the tomatoes (both forms) and cook till they are pasty and reduced. It should all smell pretty amazing at this point.
4. Add in the beans, water, and the lime leaf. That is optional, I happen to have some and thought I’d try it. It adds lovely lime and floral notes.
5. I simmered over low till the favas disintegrated and then added about 6 oz of cashew cream.
6. I served with basmati, chopped cilantro since I have some, and a squeeze of lime.
You have a pot of improvised totally westernized dal. I have no idea how to make Indian food and I basically use the right spices and adapted western techniques. I’d say this is close enough. Taste is directionally there.