Last night I fed a craving… after fighting a migraine for a couple of days, I was tired. I wanted some comfort food in a bad way. Unfortunately, I didn’t have a few of the ingredients necessary for the particular comfort food I was craving – namely Tikka Masala. And – due to the headache – I didn’t think driving to the store would be wise. So, I decided to look through some cookbooks we have, and hit google for some tasty alternatives.

I found them. Oh yes, fabulously tasty alternatives!

I happened to have a jar of Seeds of Change Korma simmer sauce (yes, I cheated for that part) which worked well since I didn’t have any heavy cream in the house. Might I recommend it to you? It’s so good! Slightly fruity, sightly tangy… but I digress.

Then I discovered that I had some split yellow ming beans in the pantry (yay!) so I went looking for a recipe for them. I love google. How did we survive before it? I mean really!

So after looking through a myriad of sites, I stumbled across the following recipe over at route79.com and I assure you it is a keeper.

Yellow Daal

• 1/2 cup split yellow daal lentils (mung beans)
• water to cover by 1″
• 1/2 large sweet onion – finely chopped
• 2 tsp. salt
• 1.5 tsp. turmeric
• 2 tsp. garam masala
• 2 tsp. coriander
• 1/5 tsp. ground cumin
• 4 cloves garlic – diced
• approx. 1 tsp. shredded ginger
• 7 oz. diced tomatoes
• 2 Tbsp. butter

The original recipe has some approximations, but I have given you what we used. It also called for chilis, which would have been a great addition, but the girls wouldn’t have eaten it. It also calls for fresh coriander leaves to put on top, but I don’t have any of those around.
Wash the daal in cool water and strain off. Put it into a pot with enough water to cover it by an inch. Add all of the spices, onion, garlic and ginger (and chilis if using) – basically everything but the butter.

Cook it over medium-high heat, at a vigorous simmer for about 1 hour, checking it often to stir and add water as needed. It will cook off the water quickly, so you’ll need to add more. Our dal was softened after an hour, but yours may need more time. Cook it this way until the dal is softened and the sauce is thick.

When it’s done, add the butter (or ghee preferably) and let it melt in. Stir and serve!

~~ Some changes I will try next time: add potatoes. I really love daal with potatoes in it, but I’m not sure how traditional yellow dal is with them. I contemplated carrots too, but I actually stayed pretty strict to the recipe this time.

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Alongside the korma (made with chicken and onion) and the daal, we had aromatic basmati rice (of course!) made in the rice cooker with 3 cardamom pods, 2 cloves and a dash or 3 of ground cinnamon (I was out of cinnamon sticks). This rice also makes a fabulous rice pudding, as it’s already somewhat seasoned.

Aromatic Basmati Rice

• 1.5 cups basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• 3 cardamom pods
• 2 whole cloves
• 1/2 cinnamon stick (or ground cinnamon)

Wash the rice thoroughly. Put it into the rice cooker with the water and spices and let it soak for 30+ minutes. Cook it until the water has all evaporated off.

That was easy.

If you want rice pudding, however, keep some of it aside. In a heavy-bottomed pot warm some heavy cream until it almost begins to curdle. Add vanilla extract, the rice and some strongly brewed chai. Boil down until it gets to the consistency you want – some like it thicker, some thinner. I usually add some dried fruit and slivered almonds to it also. Golden raisins are good, as are cranberries or cherries.

Ta-da – dessert is served as well!

We made naan to go with it ll, and a salad of napa cabbage, cucumbers and carrots with a sweet chili & vinegar dressing.

I’ll publish a naan recipe when I find one I love. This one wasn’t bad – especially as it only had 4 ingredients – but it isn’t “The Naan Recipe” that I’m still searching for.

I hope that you enjoy these recipes as much as we did… I think I’ll go have me some leftovers!

Tags: comfort food, Indian cooking

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