Dal Makhani

I first saw this dal on Steamy Kitchen blog.  It was photographed so perfectly, pulling me in with its beautiful lentils.  The version I made had a bit more spice than Jadens' but I want to say thank you to her for bringing this amazing dish to my attention.  We loved it.  I served it on Sunday.  Almost every Sunday I have my parents over for Sunday dinner. This past Sunday I thought I would make a complete Indian dinner.  It was a lot of work but well worth the effort.  My parents first encounter with Indian food was a pleasant one.  This is a feat because she equates Indian food (as I once did) tot he curry powder found in jars in the spice aisle of our love markets.  The certainly is not Indian food summed up in that little spice jar.


"The following is posting from the Chile-Heads mailing list which, I think, neatly sums up what a curry is (or rather isn't). The author is Brent Thompson who is highly knowledgeable on the subject and has lived in India. He wrote : "the term curry itself isn't really used in India, except as a term appropriated by the British to generically categorize a large set of different soup/stew preparations ubiquitous in India and nearly always containing ginger, garlic, onion, turmeric, chile, and oil (except in communities which eat neither onion or garlic, of course) and which must have seemed all the same to the British, being all yellow/red, oily, spicy/aromatic, and too pungent to taste anyway"" from The Curry House UK

So there you have it or maybe don't, a definition of curry.

I will post all the features of the feast in the next couple posts.  Chutneys, naan and gobi...  Here's a quick peak of the tables.  Ignore the coleslaw and raw cauliflower florets which the kids were eating.

Dal Makhani

1 cup de puy lentils (French green lentils)
1 large onion minced
1 1/2 cups tomato puree canned or fresh (I used canned)
2 teaspoons minced garlic

2 teaspoon grated fresh ginger
1 tsp chili powder
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin powder
pinch of turmeric powder
1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2 cup heavy cream
1/4 cup cilantro, minced

salt to taste

Cook lentils in 3 cups water until tender.  Add the remainder of ingredients, except cilantro and let simmer for about an hour.  Stir in cilantro just before serving.
* Note:  I added a bit more than 1 1/2 cups of tomato puree- next time I will only add 1 1/2 cups.