Black Urad Daal, Ajowan Rice, and Buttered Peas with Garlic and Spices

When I mentioned to people I was making Nepali food, a few asked if I would be making daal. And when I spoke to people that have traveled to Nepal, they mentioned daal so I kinda got the feeling that I'd have to make daal at least once. I made it twice and it turned out great both times. This is the first time.

I didn't take pictures of any of the ingredients cause clearly I'm really good at remembering things...this is why I have multiple To Do Lists every day. "To Do This Hour" "To Do Today" "To Do Before You Forget the Other List" "Just Do This Right Now" I'm not even joking about that last one. Someone get me some gingko biloba, amirite?!

The ingredients for Black Urad Daal

1 cup split black urad beans, with skins. I don't know why they mentioned they needed to be split, "daal" means a split bean. I also only used 1/2 cup.

1 tbsp finely julienned fresh ginger plus 1 1/2 tsp minced

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/4 tsp Szechwan pepper. I didn't use this because I couldn't find it anywhere. I'll probably find it next week.

3 tbsps clarified butter (ghee)

2-3 dried red chilies, halved and seeded.

1/2 tsp Himalayan herb (jimbu). I also couldn't find this and the owner at Gandhi Bazar looked at me like I was a weirdo.

A generous pinch of asafetida. I didn't yet know how long the scent would linger

2 large garlic cloves, thinly sliced

Soak yer beans. When they're soaked, combine with minced ginger, salt, tumeric, Szechwan pepper, 1 tbsp of the ghee, and 3 1/2 cups of water in a heavy pot. Bring to a quick boil, uncovered, and stir to make sure they don't stick. Cook for about 20 minutes then reduce to low, cover, and simmer until the beans are tender, about 55 minutes. Mine were done in like thirty minutes cause I didn't use as much.

Heat the ghee and add the chilies and jimbu; fry until fragrant. Add the asafetida and then immediately add the julienned ginger and garlic; fry until crisp. Immediately pour the mixture into the daal and stir. Cover and allow the season to develop for five minutes. Serve hot. The daal will supposedly thicken if not served at once but I let mine sit for almost a half hour and it was fine. If it does thicken, the book says to reheat with a couple tablespoons of water.

The ingredients for the Buttered Peas with Garlic and Spices

3 tbsps ghee

1/4 tsp cumin seeds. I used ground cumin.

2 mild green chilies, split lengthwise

8 medium garlic cloves, peeled

1 tbsp peeled and finely julienned ginger

1/4 tsp ground tumeric

A small pinch of asafetida

4 cups shelled green peas. I used about two cups of frozen.

1/2 tsp salt

1 tsp Garam Masala

Heat the ghee and when hot, not smoking, add the cumin and fry until fragrant. Add the chilies, garlic, ginger, tumeric, and asafetida, and fry for one minute. Stir in the peas and salt and cook for five minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, cover, and cook until tender, about eight to ten minutes. Add the garam masala and stir.

Ajowan Rice

1/4 cup ghee

1 tsp ajowan seeds

2 dried red chilies, halved and seeded

1 medium onion, thinly sliced

3 garlic cloves, finely chopped

4-6 cups cold cooked rice. This recipe is good if you have leftover rice from another meal. I didn't so I just made some rice in the morning and used it later that evening. I also only used two cups.

1/2 tsp salt

4-5 green onions (white and pale green parts) thinly sliced

Heat the ghee and when hot, add the ajowan seeds and chilies and fry. Add the onion and garlic, and cook until soft. Lower the heat, add the rice a little at a time. Make sure to separate clumps. Add the salt and continue to stir until rice is heated through. If it starts to stick to the pan, add a bit of water. The finished rice should be soft. Mix in the onions and serve.

This was really tasty! The meal the night before was a little heavy so it was nice to have a light but filling meal. It's nothing to write home about and to be honest, the amount of effort was a bit much for such a simple meal, but I liked it. I think the Ajowan Rice was a good use of old rice and it was good but not life changing. I don't expect all food to be life changing but when I spend over an hour in the kitchen, I want it to at lease be asterisk worthy in my life story. I fully expect this blog to be at least a chapter in my life story. It will be titled "The Time I Spent Hours in the Kitchen and All I Got Was Aggravated and Fat" the fat part is coming, I know it.