Toor Dal (Split Yellow Pigeon Peas)

Early in the pandemic, I embarked on a few taste tests and cooking challenges for myself. One was to try recipes featuring each of the yellow beans I had in the house -- dal, split peas, lentils. Here is what I did with the yellow split peas.

Toor Dal (Split Yellow Pigeon Peas)
NY Times

Dal:
1	c toor dal
2	roma tomato, roughly chopped
1/4 tsp	turmeric
1/2 tsp	coarse salt
1/4	c peanuts, whole, raw

Tempering:
1/4	c ghee
1 sprig	curry leave
1 stick	cinnamon
3	dried chiles de arbol
3	cloves
1/4 tsp	black mustard seeds

To prepare dal, soak pigeon peas in a large bowl of warm water for about 1 hour. Rinse, drain and tip into a pot.

Add tomatoes, turmeric, salt and 5 c water. Bring to a boil over high. Reduce heat to medium and simmer until tender, 25-30 minutes.

Use an immersion blender to puree some of the dal, leaving some chunky. Stir in peanuts and simmer until dal is very tender, 3- minutes. Taste and adjust with salt.

Heat a small pan with ghee. When hot, add all spices and toast 30 seconds. Add to hot dal.

Comments

Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles

I love this dish so much that I can barely stand it. Delicious the night it was made, and fantastic as leftovers throughout the week. Mayocoba beans are easily replaced -- try pintos, if you can't find mayocobas. Mayocoba Beans with Green Chiles Baptism of Fire 3-4 green chiles, roasted and chopped 1 onion, chopped 1 clove garlic, minced 1 T lard or olive oil 1/2 tsp oregano 1 tsp cumin pepper 1 c mayocoba beans, dry 3 c water 1 tsp salt Cook the green chiles, onion, garlic, oregano, cumin, and black pepper in the fat until the onions begin to caramelize. Add the water and bring to a boil. Turn off the heat and let the beans sit, uncovered, for an hour. You may drain the water to remove some of the slightly indigestible sugars that cause gassiness. If you decide to drain them, add enough water back into the pot to cover the beans with about 2" of water above the beans for cooking. Bring the beans back to a boil and cook, until tender. This will take...

Curried Chicken Soup

I made this soup so often in the 1990s, but frankly had forgotten about it. Flipping through this cookbook, I found this recipe and was flooded with memories. When I was in grad school, this soup was my "feeling decadent" food and reminded me of something people might eat after hitting the slopes -- a thing I have never done. A few decades long, and with a lot more experience with cooking, I realize that this is basically a chicken curry with a thin sauce and the rice already in the meal -- but don't let that in any way discourage you! It's delicious as is and is a wonderful take on what is otherwise chicken and rice soup. I have become a fan of using rotisserie chickens, especially during the pandemic. They are so cheap, and I can use the meat in a soup like this on the day-of grocery shopping, and, crunch the bones down for the freezer for making stock in the future. Of course, this soup can be made with a fresh chicken, but I have modified the recipe bel...

Spicy Bulgarian Tomato Dumpling Soup - Domatene Supa

This was very very good. The soup itself was flavorful and would have been enough as a dinner soup. But adding the dumplings converted this soup into an entree. The couscous addition in the batter makes the dumplings pretty foolproof -- no real concern that they'll still be raw because most of the bulk is couscous, which was already cooked. I opted to cook only enough dumplings as we needed that night. We will have to make future dumplings "on demand" as we eat this as leftovers. Spicy Bulgarian Tomato Dumpling Soup - Domatene Supa Sundays at Moosewood Restaurant Soup 1 onion , diced 4 cloves garlic , minced 3 T olive oil 6 c tomatoes , chopped (fresh or canned and drained) 2 tsp chili powder 2 T flour 1 tsp salt 1/2 tsp pepper 4 c stock Dumplings 2 T butter , room temperature 2 eggs , separated 1/4 c couscous 1/4 c boiling water 3/4 c flour 1/4 tsp salt 2 T dill weed , fresh (or 1 tsp dried) 1/3 c milk or stock In medium pot, sa...

Donut Army

Search This Blog