Hi Everyone,
I have been so busy this past year I haven't been able to keep up with the blog... but I wanted to put together a recipe book for all the awesome recipes that our interns have brought and made for us... so here is our first installment, Rhi's Tarka Dahl!
Tarka Dahl (curried lentils)
1 lb lentils
1 onion
6 cloves garlic
Ginger
1 chili pepper
3 T turmeric
3 T Garam Masala (recipe below)
4 oz tomato paste
Lentils and 2x more water, add turmeric and ½ of the garlic
whole simmer until tender. In frying pan fry onion until soft and slightly
golden add rest of garlic finely chopped, 1 inch ginger root grated, fry til
brown (in oil). Add Garam masala to onion mix, cook 2 mins stirring constantly.
Add tomato paste and cook for 2 mins. (add chicken, veggies and coconut milk to
make curry) Add seasoning and paste mix to lentils and cook for 30 mins.
Serve with rice.
Garam Masala
4 tbsps coriander seeds
1 tbsp cumin seeds
1 tbsp black peppercorns
1 ½ tsps black cumin seeds (shahjeera)
1 ½ tsps dry ginger
¾ tsp black cardamom (3-4 large pods approx)
¾ tsp cloves
¾ tsp cinnamon (2 X 1” pieces)
¾ tsp crushed bay leaves
Preparation:
Heat a heavy skillet on a medium flame and gently roast all ingredients (leave
cardamom in its pods till later) except the dry ginger, till they turn a few
shades darker. Stir occasionally. Do not be tempted to speed up the process by
turning up the heat as the spices will burn on the outside and remain raw on
the inside.
When the spices are roasted turn off the heat and allow them
to cool.
Once cooled, remove the cardamom seeds from their skins and
mix them back with all the other roasted spices.
Grind them all together, to a fine powder in a clean, dry
coffee grinder.
Store in an air-tight
container in a cool, dark place.
Enjoy!
