• Palak Dal – My favorite lentil recipe

    I found this amazing recipe at 101cookbooks.com and thought it was THE RECIPE to post as my first real post over here.

    1 cup / 6.5 oz / 185 g white urid or urad daal, picked over and rinsed (I first used the red morrocan lentils which are great too)
    6 cups / 1.5 liters water, plus more if necessary
    1/2 pound (250 g) spinach, washed and finely chopped
    1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and finely chopped
    1/2 teaspoon turmeric (curcuma powder will do it too)
    2 medium green chile peppers, minced (I used red peppers which made the whole dish look more colorful)
    2 tomatoes, chopped

    1/2 teaspoon salt
    2 tablespoons butter
    1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
    1 teaspoon pure red chile powder
    a pinch of asafetida, optional
    more salt to taste
    juice of 1/2 a lemon
    1/4 cup cilantro (coriander), chopped

    In a large pot over medium-high heat combine the daal and water. Bring to a boil, then add the spinach, ginger, turmeric, 3/4 of the green chiles, and all of the tomatoes. Reduce the heat, and simmer for 1 1/2 to 2 hours or until the lentils are extremely soft. You may need to add a bit more water during the cooking process to keep the lentils soupy. After an hour and a half, stir in the salt.

    In a separate pan, heat the butter and cumin and fry until the cumin seeds start to pop. Now add the red chile powder (and asafetida if you’re using it) and fry for another 30 seconds. Taste and add more asafetida if you like. Add this butter mixture to the lentils and allow to cook for another five minutes. Taste, and season with more salt if needed. I also enjoyed a touch of lemon juice added at this point. Serve topped with the cilantro and the remaining green chiles.

    Serves 4 with rice or roti (I used garlic & cilantro Naan Bread).

    one, two, three – go!

    Ok, let’s go. For all those who will read this first entry, welcome to my new page! It was really about time to change my website, to finally turn it into a blog and share my thoughts and great stuff I find around the web with you. Like a lot of webmasters I know, our own website tends to always be under construction … I will try to change this in the days, weeks, months and years to come.

    I hope (and wish) to make this website as interesting as possible and to keep those entertained that dare to subscribe to my feed :-)

    Since I live in Luxembourg, I will also try to keep this website in three languages. I am also willing to translate interesting posts from around the world if they are worth it.

    Enjoy your stay.
    Diana