Mixed Daal with Cauliflower and Potatoes and Peas

This was my final meal for Nepali week. I intentionally made it a simple meal because I had planned on making it on a Friday and I've mentioned before how Fridays are my tired days. After the previous disaster, I took a couple of days off from cooking to get my thoughts together and to become less stabby. The last thing you want is a stabby person using a large kitchen knife. It worked and I enjoyed making this meal and losing myself in the preparation. Cooking should be a form of therapy. I just Googled it and what do you know? It is. Well there goes my next "big" idea...

 The ingredients for Mixed Daal

1/4 cup split yellow mung beans, without skins

 

1/4 cup masoor daal, without skins. These are also known as pink or red lentils.

1/4 cup split white urad beans, without skins

1/4 cup split yellow pigeon peas, without skins

1/4 cup split yellow chickpeas. I didn't use these because a cup of beans was already enough. And I thought I had chickpeas at home so I didn't buy any but then I realized I didn't.

3 tbsps ghee

1 tsp cumin seeds. I used ground cumin.

1 1 inch stick cinnamon

2 small bay leaves

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

A large pinch of asafetida

1 large onion, finely chopped

3-4 garlic cloves, chopped

1 tbsp minced ginger

2 tomatoes, chopped

1 tsp salt

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro. Garnish only.

Wash and soak your beans. How do you wash your beans? Put them in a bowl of cold water, swish them around, and empty the water. Repeat until the water is clear after swishing them.

Heat the ghee in a large pot. Add the cumin seeds and fry until fragrant. Add the cinnamon, bay leaves, tumeric, and asafetida, then immediately add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook until the onion is soft, stirring frequently, then add the tomatoes and cook until soft. Add the daal, salt, 4 1/2 cups of water and bring to a quick boil, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't boil over. I only used three cups of water because I took into account that the beans would have a good amount of water soaked in. Reduce head to medium-low, cover, and cook until the daal is tender. About 40-45 minutes. If you need to add water while it's cooking, do so 1/2 cup at a time. Serve hot. 

 The ingredients for the Cauliflower with Potato and Peas

1 medium sized head of cauliflower

1/2 cup mustard oil

2 dried red chilies, stemmed

1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds

1/4 tsp cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Himalayan herb (jimbu). I didn't have this.

2 small red potatoes, peeled and cut into 1 inch cubes

2 green cardamom pods, crushed. I had seeds so I crushed them. 

1 1 inch stick of cinnamon, halved

1/2 tsp ground tumeric

1 bay leaf

2 whole cloves

1 tbsp minced ginger. Look at how small that ginger is now!

1 1/2 tsps ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1 tsp salt

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup fresh peas. I used frozen

1 small red or green bell pepper, cored and cut into 1 inch pieces. I didn't add this because I accidentally used the bell pepper I had bought for this recipe in the mixed veggie patties/stir fry.

1/2 cup finely chopped cilantro

3-4 green onions (white and pale green parts) finely chopped

1 tsp garam masala

Break the cauliflower into 1 1/2 inch florets. Discard any yellow leaves but reserve any green ones. Peel the stem and cut into 1/2 inch pieces. Heat the mustard oil in a wide saucepan until it's smoking. Add the dried chili, fenugreek, cumin, and jimbu and fry until several shades darker and fragrant. Immediately add the potatoes, cardamom pods, cinnamon, tumeric, bay leaf, and cloves. Cook, stirring frequently, until the potatoes are light brown. With a slotted spoon, remove the potatoes and set in a bowl, draining as much oil as possible. Add the cauliflower, leaves, and stem and cook for about five minutes. Stir in ginger, coriander, cumin, salt, and cayenne pepper. Reduce  head to medium, cover the pan, and cook until the cauliflower is lightly browned, about 15 minutes. Mix in the potatoes, peas, and bell pepper, and cook, covered, until veggies are tender. Stir in the cilantro, green onions, and garam masala.

Both dishes were really good and I especially enjoyed how the spice livened up the peas. It was a good simple meal.

Aside from that one day, I really enjoyed making Nepali food. There are a lot of ingredients, FOR SURE, but it was fun trying out new things. I discovered asafetida and how frying the spices beforehand really makes a difference so it was a good experience. If someone can help me get rid of the scent, that would be cool, too!

Next up is Germany! Auf Wiedersehen!

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.