Toaster sports a number of pubs (really quite a few for such a small hamlet) and a rather good curry restaurant. Every time I go there I order the vege thali which is basically a selection of vege dishes plus pilau rice and a naan. This suits me because it saves me having to actually make a menu decision (I simply cannot ever make a firm restaurant ordering decision. It's one of my most annoying flaws I think! I also suffer from horrible ordering envy once the meals actually arrive. A sampler dish saves me much trouble), but it is inevitably miles too much food. And when it arrives and I start nibbling, I almost always realise that the last time I ordered this, I really only liked the dahl they served and had meant to just order that by itself. Sigh. Slow learner this one.
Anyhoo, today I felt like curry and naan for dinner so I thought I'd give tarka dahl a shot - from what I've learnt online and from my various recipe books, tarka dahl is much like your average dahl except that it has lots of garlic in it and it is made from yellow split peas, rather than lentils. I also made a different chicken curry for Andrew (he not really being one with the legume unfortunately).
Here's what I did:
Soaked about 200g yellow split peas half a day in cold water. This wasn't really sufficient to soften them but we'll get back to that point later.
Finely chopped half an onion and then very gently cooked it in 3 tbsp vegetable oil for about 10 mins. While that was happily sweating away I minced about 5 cloves of garlic and then added it to the onion. Various recipes were a bit vague on the required spices so I sort of threw things in as I fancied. The only thing I knew should be in there were black mustard seeds because the local restaurant version has these in it and I like the tapioca-like texture they add to the mushy peas. I added about a tsp of those. My version also included: 1/2 tsp (ish) ground cumin, about the same of tumeric and ground coriander and a healthy pinch of red chilli flakes. I cooked the spices with the onion and garlic for another 5 mins until the spices had darkened then I added the drained and rinsed split peas, stirred them about for a bit and covered them with 600mls or so of water. Basically then you bung the lid on and simmer until they are done. If you've soaked your peas properly (ie. overnight) then they should probably only take about 30-40 mins. I was both disorganised and impatient so when it looked like A's curry was ready and mine was still a wee way away, I realised some cheating would be necessary. I threw in about 1/2 tsp of baking soda, stirred the now fizzy mixture and let it simmer another 5 mins (while I cooked the naan - which were, may I just say, one of the best batches I've made. Their making did end up killing half a dozen rare-breed, organic, free-range eggs which made me momentarily bawl at the sadness of it all and then have to clean half a dozen broken eggs off the kitchen floor. Ever tried to sweep/scoop/mop up egg? Not easy! And they were such beautiful eggs. I really was looking forward to them for brekkie tomorrow). Anyway, I digress. The baking soda did achieve the required 'cheat' of disintegrating the split peas but it had the unfortunate side effect of turning the whole mixture a rather unappetising baby-shit brown colour. But, the proof after all is in the taste (and really, when do pulses ever look truly beautiful?) and the taste was pretty damn great actually. Every bit as good as the restaurant's version and exactly what I'd been hoping for. Success!
The naan, by the way, was the recipe I've got elsewhere on the page. No idea why they were so particularly delish today, but they really were. And yay - there's lots of spare dough in the fridge. I reckon they'd make a decent lunch-time pizza-base substitute tomorrow...
The curry I made for Andrew was basically this: http://www.curryhouse.co.uk/rsc/pasanda.htm
It was pretty good although I think it needed a tsp or so of sugar which I think I'd add next time. I also think I'd probably stir through another tbsp yoghurt at the end to add a bit more creaminess. But otherwise it was pretty good (oh, and I didn't bother frying the chicken before adding it to the sauce. Seemed like that step was just designed to make more dishes while adding very little in the way of flavour! It tasted fine without being fried first).
Ooh, and on an unrelated note, I bought some vanilla bean paste at the supermarket today and it smells divine. I'm dying to bake something incredibly vanilla-y with it tomorrow, so tune in later...
Yum!! I make a similar dahl with split peas though I didn't know that it was called tarka dahl (and to think, I once worked in an Indian restaurant). It's pretty similar to yours, though I use fresh chilli, fresh ginger if I've got it and also cinnamon. Oh, and lemon. I add some rind to the peas as I cook them and a squeeze of juice at the end. Sometimes I'll mix up the recipe a bit by adding a bit of tomato paste and some chopped tomatoes and I've taken to adding some coconut milk, which probably makes it some other type of dahl altogether but is really delicious. I never pre-soak my peas (because I'm never prepared!) so I usually just cook them separately first and then add them. I have trouble cooking things gently, but I've learnt that if I simmer them slowly they'll hold their shape which I've come to like. I usually blend a little bit of the curry to thicken the base. I also usually make a salsa of tomato, cucumber, red onion and coriander to go on top. I just like the freshness of it.
ReplyDeleteI can't believe you made not one but TWO curries and naan! Very impressive.
What vanilla treats have you been contemplating?
YUM! Ooh, your version(s) sound fabulous! I'm definitely trying the addition of tomatoes next time...I think it would add just a hint of freshness which would lighten the whole dish. I'm actually really looking forward to the left-overs for dinner tonight - legumes really do seem to taste better after a rest in the fridge. Mmm.
ReplyDeleteThis morning I made (out of necessity because there was no toast-bread or cereal) vanilla-scented french toast with honey and have also made some vanilla fudge. I'm not sure how the latter will turn out because I don't own a candy thermometer and my ability to judge 'soft ball' 'hard ball' stages is not the best. The mixture tasted bloody amazing though, so here's hoping it works.
So... how did the fudge turn out? And, I have to say, I love how you convinced yourself that making vanilla-scented french toast with honey was a necessity, hehe!
ReplyDeleteTeehee - I'm nothing if not good at convincing myself (and others) of the benefits to be had in bad stuff! :-P Just call me the tiny devil on your shoulder...
ReplyDeleteThe fudge was actually really good but I do need a candy thermometer I think...it probably needed another 3 minutes cooking as it didn't quite thicken as much as it should have. Hasn't stopped me scoffing the slightly bendy pieces from the fridge every time I go past though! Will try again and this time it'll be perfect...