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Dolling up Dal in India

Want to eat something fabulous? Then try this exotic north Indian version of dal (lentils).

Cooking dal is a fine art in India, where even the simplest version can be extraordinary. But this one is special, with ingredients such as wine, wine vinegar, butter and shallots that set it apart from everyday dals. And then there is that sumptuous scattering of nuts and raisins on top.

A dal so exceptional has to come from a special place, and the source is Wildflower Hall, a luxury hotel at Shimla in the Himalayas. I'm not lucky enough to have been there, but I was more than lucky to get the recipe, relayed by a friend.

DAL TELIYAMMA
Indian Lentils with Nuts and Raisins

1 1/4 cups (1/2 pound) whole unpeeled urid dal (black-skinned lentils)
Salt
8 cups water
2 rounded tablespoons coarsely chopped garlic cloves
2 rounded tablespoons sliced ginger root
2 tablespoons mustard oil
1 cup tomato puree
¼ teaspoon red chili powder
¼ cup dry white wine
¼ cup white wine vinegar
2 tablespoons minced shallots
6 to 8 tablespoons cold butter
Pepper
1 tablespoon dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
12 walnut halves, coarsely chopped
18 cashews, coarsely chopped
36 raisins

Place the dal in a colander and wash well under running water. Add 1 ½ teaspoons salt and rub with the dal.

 Turn the dal  into a heavy pot and add the water. Bring to a boil and boil, loosely covered, until very soft and the skins have separated, about 1 hour. Cool slightly, then drain the dal, reserving the cooking liquid. There will be about 4 cups drained dal.

Meanwhile, combine the garlic and ginger in a heavy mortar and pound until pulverized. This will yield about 2½ tablespoons garlic-ginger paste. Or combine the garlic and ginger in a mini food processor with a small amount of water and puree.

Heat the mustard oil in the pot in which the dal was cooked. Add the garlic-ginger paste and fry for 3 minutes. Add the tomato puree and chili powder and cook for 5 minutes. Now add the drained dal. 

Add water to the reserved cooking liquid to make 3 cups. Add the liquid and 1 teaspoon salt to the pot.  Cover and cook gently for 4 hours. Add more water if the dal should become dry.

Meanwhile, combine the wine, wine vinegar and shallots in a small heavy saucepan. Boil until the liquid is reduced and just covers the shallots.

Cut the butter into 8 pieces. Whisk into the shallot mixture 1 tablespoon at a time, using 6 tablespoons for less fat, 8 tablespoons for a richer dish. Add salt to taste and a dash pepper. 

After the dal has cooked 4 hours, add the butter mixture and fenugreek leaves. Taste and add more salt if needed. Cover and cook gently 1 hour. The dal will be fluid. If a thicker consistency is desired, uncover and boil 5 minutes.

Serve in heated bowls, topping each serving with walnuts, cashews and raisins.

 Makes about 5 ½ cups, or 6 servings.

Sneaking Wine in Pondicherry

There we were, two tourist bums sitting on Pondicherry's seawall, drinking wine hidden in a bag. 

Pondicherry (now Puducherry)  is in South India, and therefore the wine was Indian--Grover Vineyards Cabernet-Shiraz, produced from grapes grown on the slopes of the Nandi Hills near Bangalore.

I had met Margaret at an ayurvedic spa outside Bangalore, and we ran into each other again in Pondicherry, a former French colony on the Bay of Bengal below Chennai.

I was staying in an ashram guest house, where liquor was not allowed, so Margaret volunteered to pick up a bottle at a shop near her hotel.

In the cool of the evening, when Pondicherry's residents parade along the sea, we sipped our wine discreetly, checking out the wares of itinerant vendors--I bought a wooden flute--and sharing our rupees with beggars.

When we were finished, we gave the bottle and the two plastic bags that it was wrapped in to a beggar woman. She carefully tied the bags around her bare right foot to use as a shoe and hobbled away.

I didn't taste that wine again until a couple of days ago, this time in Los Angeles. A friend from Mumbai had given me a bottle.

"Best served with spicy food," the label said, and so I cooked an Indian dinner to go with it. It was simple food, chicken rubbed with a spice masala, roasted potatoes, the way an Indian friend makes them  (the recipe appears below), and spinach puree as prepared by the late film producer Ismail Merchant, a master at making Indian cookery easy and accessible. 

My notes from Pondicherry described the wine as "surprisingly good, very smooth and drinkable." At home, it tasted rustic and a little wild, and it needed the highly seasoned food to tone it down.

Grover exports its wines, and I've seen them at Indian restaurants in Los Angeles. But that first bottle, so charged with the enchantment of being in India, will always be my favorite.

MIRA'S ROAST POTATOES

1 teaspoon ground coriander
1/4 teaspoon curry powder
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/8 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspon herbes de Provence or any dried herb mixture
1/2 teaspoon salt
Generous dash freshly ground black pepper
1 pound small red potatoes
1 tablespoon olive oil

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.

Combine the coriander, curry powder, garlic powder, cumin, mixed herbs, salt and pepper in a small dish and mix well.

Scrub the potatoes, trim and cut in half, but do not peel.

Place the potatoes in a baking pan large enough to hold them in a single layer. Sprinkle with the olive oil, then with the spice mixture and turn to coat them evenly with the seasonings.

Arrange the potatoes cut side down in the pan. Cover with foil and bake 45 minutes, or until tender and the cut side is browned.

Makes 4 servings. 

It's a Proud Year for Potatoes

Make sure you cook potatoes before 2008 ends—not just any baked, boiled or fried potatoes, but something special because the United Nations has named this the International Year of the Potato.

My suggestion is an Indian dish, Aloo Chander. Aloo means potato, and Chander is Phulan Chander of the Samosa House (Bharat Bazaar) in Culver City, California, a longtime friend and fine vegetarian cook.

Why an Indian dish? Because India is a leading producer and consumer of potatoes. And people there really know how to treat them.

Phulan’s dish is brightly flavored and easy to make. The first step is to grind a masala (spice mixture), using both fresh ingredients and dry spices.

The next step is to cook the potatoes with the masala and other seasonings. At the end, you put in tomatoes, peas and cilantro for color.  The good news is, if you have to  prepare the potatoes in advance, they will be just as good when reheated, maybe even better.

A word of advice: your kitchen should be super clean when you cook this.  It so happens that 2008 is also the International Year of Sanitation.

ALOO CHANDER
(Phulan Chander's Potatoes)

The Masala:

½ medium onion, cut into chunks
1 serrano chile, stemmed and seeded
1 ½ teaspoons lemon juice
½ teaspoon cumin seeds
¼ teaspoon coriander seeds
¼ teaspoon turmeric
¼ teaspoon salt

Combine the onion, chile, lemon juice, cumin and coriander seeds, turmeric and salt in a food processor and process until very finely ground. Stop the processor several times to scrape the mixture down from the sides, then continue processing. Set aside until needed. Makes slightly less than ½ cup.

The Potatoes:

4 russet potatoes, about 1 ¾ to 2 pounds
2 tablespoons oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 large cloves garlic, finely chopped
1 ½ tablespoons finely chopped ginger root
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
½ teaspoon turmeric
Reserved masala
½ cup water
1 teaspoon salt
1/2 pound roma tomatoes, peeled and finely chopped
2/3 cup frozen peas
½ cup cilantro leaves, coarsely chopped

Peel the potatoes. Cut each in half lengthwise, then cut each half crosswise into 5 pieces, making 10 pieces from each potato.  Place the potatoes in a bowl of cold water to prevent browning.

Heat the oil in a large skillet. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, cumin seeds, turmeric and the masala. Cook until the onion is tender, about 10 minutes. Add the drained potatoes and turn until coated with the spices. Add the water and salt.

Cover and simmer over medium low heat 30 minutes, or until the potatoes are tender, stirring once. Add the tomatoes and peas and cook 2 minutes. Stir in the cilantro. Makes 6 to 8 side dish servings.

Microwaving by the Book

I tend to scorn microwave cookbooks. They seem practical and dull, oriented toward machines rather than food. The frequency with which they turn up in thrift shops indicates that others feel the same way.

Nevertheless, I bought a microwave cookbook recently. Of course this one is different, exotic and fun. I picked it up at Higginbothams in Chennai (Madras), a grand, high-ceilinged place that that is India's oldest book shop.

The book is “Cook and See. Part 5,” published by S. Meenakshi Ammal Publications in Chennai. The recipes cover north and south Indian dishes and continental food, a legacy of the British.  All are vegetarian.

Author Priya Ramkumar writes in her introduction: “This book is an attempt to prove that microwave ovens can dish out a variety of yummy recipes at the touch of a button.”

I have to admit that she is right, judging by her book at least, and my long-standing prejudice is wrong.

The recipes work, with minor changes that may reflect the difference between microwave ovens in India and the United States. And they are delicious, like this cream of tomato soup, which I have  adjusted slightly for American cooks. 

CREAM OF TOMATO SOUP
From “Cook and See, Part V” by Priya Ramkumar

1 pound tomatoes, roughly chopped
1 medium onion, peeled and quartered
1 potato (I used a small russet potato), peeled and quartered
1 large carrot, peeled and roughly chopped
1½  to 2 cups water
2 tablespoons cornstarch
3 tablespoons milk
1 to 2 teaspoons sugar
2 teaspoons salt
¼ teaspoon white pepper
Heavy cream
Cilantro

Combine the tomatoes, onion, potato and carrot in a microwave proof deep bowl. Sprinkle with ½ cup water. Cover and microwave on high 8 to 10 minutes, or until the vegetables are tender. (In my oven, this took 15 minutes).

Blend the mixture in a blender (or with a hand blender). Put through a sieve to remove seeds and peel.

Stir the cornstarch into the milk until smooth. Add this to the soup along with the sugar, salt and pepper. Add 1 cup water, or more if needed to thin the soup. Cover and microwave on high 3 to 4 minutes (8 minutes in my oven) until heated through.

Stir well. Ladle into heated bowls and garnish with a swirl of cream and cilantro.

Variations:  Season with ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala. Add canned sweet corn. Garnish with croutons.

Makes 4 servings.

Green Curry from India

Thailand has green curry so popular that it’s on the menu at just about every Thai restaurant.

Not so well known is green curry from India, a fresh and interesting change from the usual heavily spiced,  tomato-red restaurant curries.

The place to find it is Flavor of India in West Hollywood and Burbank, where each day there’s a different chicken curry.

Lots of cilantro makes this one green. If you don’t like cilantro, don’t worry. The flavor softens as it blends with large amounts of garlic and ginger, onions, jalapeno chiles and--another unusual aspect of this curry--coconut milk.

Owner/chef Darshan Singh gave me the recipe when I dropped by for lunch recently. It’s not difficult, because it calls for few ingredients compared to the multitude of spices that go into some Indian dishes.

Long slow cooking in various stages is responsible for the smooth, mellow flavor. So be patient, and the results will be wonderful.

GREEN COCONUT CHICKEN CURRY
From Flavor of India

3 pounds medium-sized chicken thighs
2 cups cilantro leaves (1 bunch)
2 jalapeno chiles, seeded and coarsely chopped
¼ cup peeled ginger root, cut into chunks
¼ cup garlic cloves (about 8)
Water
1½ teaspoons Indian brown mustard seeds
¾ teaspoon ground coriander
¼ to 1½ teaspoons red chili powder, according to taste
½ teaspoon turmeric
2 teaspoons salt
2 tablespoons oil
3/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
2 medium onions, finely chopped
1 cup coconut milk

Remove the skin and excess fat from the chicken thighs and set aside.

Combine the cilantro leaves, jalapenos, ginger, garlic and 1/3 cup water in a small food processor and process until pureed. Scoop this paste into a bowl and set aside.

Using a spice grinder, grind the mustard seeds to a powder and set aside. Combine the coriander, chili powder, turmeric and salt in a small cup.

Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or other large heavy pan. Add the cumin seeds and ground mustard seeds and cook until they crackle. Add the onions and cook until golden brown, stirring often to keep them from burning.

Add the cilantro paste and sauté for 5 minutes on medium heat. Add the ground coriander mixture, then the coconut milk and cook, stirring, for 5 minutes.

Add the chicken and ½ cup water. Cover and simmer until the chicken is cooked, about 45 minutes.  Serve with rice.

Makes 4 servings.

Tomato Hysteria in South India

I have seen tomatoes cause a fit of hysterics. And they were perfectly good tomatoes. As a matter of fact, wonderful tomatoes.

This happened in southern India, near Bangalore. It was breakfast time at  AyurvedaGram, the ayurvedic spa where I was staying. Most of us ate from the general buffet, a lavish spread of light vegetarian dishes. But some were on special diets related to the health issue that had brought them to the spa.

Across from me sat a beautiful young Indian woman, a banker from London with a handsome boyfriend, who called in at the spa occasionally.

She was on a diet, for weight loss I imagine. And she had been placed on an all-tomato regimen. This day, they had brought her the wrong tomatoes—either broiled when they should have been raw, or raw when they should have been broiled, I’m not sure. But the outburst was extraordinary.

It’s not that she was a nasty person, just that food has strong emotional components.that can be overwhelming, especially the lack of food considered vital to a desired goal.

At any rate, the meals at the spa were so good that I arranged an interview with the chef to get recipes. One of them was for a tomato curry that sounds almost too simple, but when I served it to guests, they wanted more and more.

If this curry had been presented to the young banker, perhaps she would have had a better day, and the rest of us would not have been startled out of our morning fog.

AYURVEDAGRAM TOMATO CURRY

1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon oil
½ pound onions, finely chopped (1 ½ cups)
1 large clove garlic, minced
1 ¼ pounds roma or other small tomatoes, peeled and chopped
¼ teaspoon cumin seeds
1 ½ teaspoons minced ginger root
½ teaspoon salt, or to taste
Chopped cilantro

Heat 1 tablespoon oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and garlic and cook until tender, 8 to 10 minutes.  Add the tomatoes and cook, uncovered, 15 to 20 minutes, or until softened.

Meanwhile, heat the remaining 1 teaspoon oil in a small skillet. Add the cumin seeds and cook until a deep brown.

When the tomatoes are soft, add the cumin seeds and oil, the ginger root and salt, and simmer, uncovered, 5 minutes longer. Turn into a serving bowl and garnish with chopped cilantro.

Makes  2 cups, or 4 side dish servings. Double the recipe to make 6 larger servings, increasing the cooking times slightly if necessary.

Cauliflower: As Good as It Gets

Jayanta Paul, a chef from Mumbai (Bombay), cooked wonderful dishes for Maurya, a now-vanished restaurant in Beverly Hills. For brunch one Sunday, he prepared cauliflower so delicious that I begged for the recipe. Slightly sweet, with a sumptuous creamy tomato sauce, it would have fit right in at a Mogul banquet. 

I’ve lost track of Chef Paul, but I make his cauliflower often. Once I took it to a potluck dinner where there was a great spread of food, none of it Indian. Although it didn’t seem to fit, the cauliflower was a great hit and disappeared rapidly, while other dishes lingered. 

The recipe calls for dried fenugreek leaves (methi). These are readily available in Indian markets, but can be left out, or chopped parsley added for color, although the flavor is not the same.

JAYANTA PAUL’S GOBI MAKHNI
Cauliflower in Creamy Tomato Sauce

1 ½ pounds trimmed cauliflower
2 tablespoons oil
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons water
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 pound tomatoes
1 ½ teaspoons ginger paste
1½ teaspoons garlic paste
10 green cardamom pods
10 whole cloves
¼ teaspoon hot red chili powder, or to taste
2 tablespoons unsalted butter
2 tablespoons slivered ginger root
2 tablespoons dried fenugreek leaves (methi)
2 tablespoons whipping cream
2 tablespoons honey
Chopped cilantro
   
Cut the cauliflower into florets. Wash in cold water and drain. Heat the oil in a non-stick wok or deep skillet. Add the cauliflower and 2 tablespoons water. Sprinkle with 1 teaspoon salt. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, until the cauliflower is tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

Cut the tomatoes into quarters. Place in a deep saucepan. Add 1 cup water, the ginger and garlic pastes (to make these, pound garlic cloves and sliced ginger root in a mortar until pulverized), the cardamom pods, cloves, chili powder and 1 teaspoon salt. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, for 30 minutes.

Remove from heat and allow to cool slightly, then turn into a blender and blend well. Strain through a sieve.
Melt 1 tablespoon butter in the cleaned wok or skillet. Add the slivered ginger root and sauté for 30 seconds. Add the strained sauce and fenugreek leaves and bring to a boil. Add the cauliflower and boil, uncovered, for 2 minutes.

Reduce the heat to a simmer. Add the whipping cream and stir to blend. Add the remaining tablespoon butter and stir until melted and blended with the sauce. Stir in the honey. Turn into a heated serving container and garnish with cilantro.

Makes 4 servings.

A Recipe Fit for a Queen

Not many people mingle with queens, but I am fortunate enough to know one of them, Smita Salgaonkar, who reigns as Mrs. Asia USA 2007.

Smita is statuesque, gorgeous, talented and smart. Best of all, she is a fabulous cook. Years ago, I watched her make South Indian dosais, swirling a batter of ground rice and lentils onto a skillet to make thin  golden “crepes.”   They were delectable, and so was the enchanting rose-flavored ice cream that she had prepared for dessert.

We didn’t know it then, but that ice cream predicted her future as clearly as if it had been an image in a crystal ball. Today Smita is founder and president of Neemo’s Exotic Ice Creams, which is based in Orange, California, and she has opened an ice cream parlor and snack shop called Saffron Spot in Artesia’s Little India.

The 25 flavors served there include her signature saffron silk,  rajbhog, a rich tasting blend of  pistachios, almonds and cashews seasoned with saffron and cardamom; mango, chikoo (sapote), lychee, pomegranate, badam (almond), kulfi (Indian style ice cream)  and banana cardamom.

Born in Mumbai, India, Smita lives in Orange County. Her royal activities and  businesses keep her busy, but when she has time to cook, she’s likely to make a favorite chicken dish, a recipe from Mai Ghag, mother of a friend and author of a small book of recipes for Indians living in the United States. 

Although Indian dishes often require complex seasonings and procedures, Smita’s Saffron Chicken is so simple it’s almost no work at all. A shortcut is to marinate the chicken in the seasonings overnight. Then all you have to do the next day is bake it with a topping of browned onions. 

SMITA’S SAFFRON CHICKEN

1 cup plain yogurt
½ cup water
2 tablespoons oil, plus more for frying
½ cup blanched almonds
8 medium cloves garlic
½-inch piece ginger root, peeled
2 teaspoons lime or lemon juice
1 teaspoon red chili powder
½ teaspoon turmeric
1 pinch saffron threads
1/8 teaspoon methi (fenugreek) seeds, optional
Salt
2 pounds boneless skinless chicken pieces
1 large onion, sliced lengthwise

In a blender or food processor, combine the yogurt, water and 2 tablespoons oil. Add the almonds, garlic, ginger root, lime juice, chili powder, turmeric, saffron, methi seeds and salt to taste. Blend or process until finely ground.

Place the chicken in a container with a tight lid.  Add the yogurt marinade and mix well. Cover and refrigerate overnight.  The next day, bring the chicken to room temperature. Fry the onion in 2 to 3 tablespoons oil until browned, which will take about 12 to 15 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Arrange the chicken and marinade in a baking dish with a lid. Top with the browned onions. Cover tightly and bake 50 minutes. Remove from the oven and let stand with the cover on for 15 minutes.

To serve, garnish the chicken with cilantro and serve over rice or with naan bread.

Makes 4 servings. 

OUT OF INDIA: VINDALOO

VINDALOO

From "Curry, a Tale of Cooks & Conquerors"

2 large dried red chiles
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon poppy seeds
4 to 6 whole cloves
10 black peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
2 fresh red chiles, finely chopped or pureed with water
1 tablespoon palm or wine vinegar
1 tablespoon tamarind paste or concentrate
6 large cloves garlic, mashed
3/4 inch gingerroot, finely grated
1 1/2 pounds pork stew meat, cubed
4 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
3/4 inch cinnamon stick
1 large onion, finely chopped
1 1/4 cups water
Salt
Dash (about 1 tablespoon) jaggery (palm sugar) or brown sugar
A few curry leaves, crushed

In a cast iron pan, dry roast the dried chiles, cumin seeds, poppy seeds, cloves, peppercorns and turmeric for 1 to 2 minutes. Grind into a fine powder in a spice or coffee grinder. Place in a small bowl and add the fresh chiles, vinegar, tamarind, garlic and ginger. Mix to a paste.

Place the pork in a large bowl, add the spice mixture and combine thoroughly. Cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, heat the oil in a deep, heavy pan. Add the mustard seeds and cinnamon stick and cover the pan to prevent splattering. When the mustard seeds have popped, add the onion and cook until it begins to brown.

Add the pork and marinade and cook and stir about 10 minutes. Add the water and salt to taste. Cover and simmer 20 minutes, then uncover and cook gently 1 hour, adding water if necessary to prevent burning. Add the sugar and curry leaves and simmer 3 minutes longer.

Makes 4 servings.