March 27th
Kathryn
Ethnic Food Night
We got together at Tinamarie's for an evening of "ethnic food". What that is is open to interpretation... our selections this time ranged from Indian ice cream to couscous to Irish stew.
I made one of my favorite comfort foods... Moong Dal... an Indian lentil dish that is subtle and spicy without burning your tastebuds out.
This is a quick and easy vegetarian dish with spunk.
Ingredients to serve 4-6
1 cup yellow lentils (or yellow split peas)
1 tsp ground turmeric
6 cups water (I have NEVER used that much. I start with half that and add it if I need it)
3 hot green peppers, halved and seeded (I use serranos becasue they are easy to find)
4 whole cloves
1 tablespoon curry leaves (you can sub curry powder in a pinch)
salt to taste
4 tablespoons butter
1/2 tsp whole cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon ginger, minced
(I like my flavors a bit pungent so I tend to go heavier on the ginger, garlic and cloves.)
Bring water, yellow lentils, serrano peppers, turmeric, cloves, curry and salt to taste to a rapid boil, then lower to medium heat and cook for 20-30 minutes. In a fry pan, melt butter and stir fry minced garlic, ginger and whole cumin seeds til they soften and are aromatic (About 2-3 minutes). Mix into the lentil dish and cook on med high for another 2 minutes. Lentils will be al dente to tender but should still have their lentil consistency. Serve on rice. Its is great the next day when the flavors intensify.
I was all discombobulated and showed up 2 hours early! But, I got to help set up, spend some time with Tinamarie, and meet her brother Butch (we talked about movies and movie stars, and how the world has changed.)
