Dahl Makhani (curried bean and lentil dal)

A very flavorful dal, served with savory rice. Excellent on the second day with an egg on top.

2 Tbsps mild oil

1 medium onion (6oz/170g) chopped

3 garlic cloves, minced

1 Tbsp fresh ginger, finely grated 

1 jalapeño pepper, seeds and membranes removed, minced (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)

1 ½ tsp garam masala

1 tsp fennel seeds

½ tsp ground cumin 

½ tsp ground coriander 

1 tsp salt 

Ground black pepper

1 can (14oz/398mL) diced tomatoes, with their juices

1 cup uncooked French lentils

19oz/540mL cooked pinto beans, rinsed and drained 

5 cups water or light vegetable stock

1 bay leaf

2 lightly bruised cardamom pods

1 Tbsp lime juice, plus additional lime wedges for serving

Serve with:

Plain yogurt

Chopped fresh cilantro

Lime wedges

1. In a large pot heat the oil and gently cook the onion for about 5 minutes, until just softening.
2. Add the ginger and jalapeño and cook for another minute.
3. Finally include the garlic and cook for about a minute or until fragrant.
4. Stir in the garam masala, fennel seeds, cumin, coriander and salt. Season generously with black pepper. Cook, while stirring, for 1 minute.
5. Add the tomatoes and cook for about 5 more minutes, stirring, or until they soften and start to fall apart. 
6. Add the lentils, water or broth, bay leaf and cardamom pods. 
7. Bring to a simmer and continue cooking, uncovered,  until the lentils are tender. Stir occasionally. About 35 minutes or until the beans and lentils are very thoroughly cooked.
8. Add the beans and cook another 10 minutes.
9. Remove the bay leaf. 
10. Either mash roughly with a potato masher or ricer, just enough to thicken the broth OR; transfer 2 cups of the mixture to a blender and process until smooth, being careful to avoid the hot steam escaping from the blender lid. Transfer the blended mixture back to the pot and stir to combine. 
11. Add the lime juice and adjust the seasoning. 
12. Serve in bowls.
13. Pass around the yogurt, chopped cilantro and lime wedges. 

NOTE: Good make-ahead dish, the flavors mellow very nicely. Very good as a lunch with a soft fried egg or a soft poached egg on top.

Chickpea and Bean Dahl

Just so you know what to look for in terms of a final result with this dish, the split peas should completely break down and join the cream to make a thick sauce in which are swimming the chickpeas and the beans. If the beans are breaking down a bit, that's not a bad thing. Served as a dal with an Indian meal accompanied by rice or naan and tarkari and saag, this is a lovely buttery, creamy dish.

1 cup yellow split peas (7 oz/200g)

Salt, to taste

1 tsp cumin seeds

3 Tbsps. mild oil

2 Tbsps. fresh ginger, finely grated

2 large garlic cloves, grated (10-12g)

½ tsp red pepper flakes or 1 jalapeno, seeded and minced

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 small tomato (3oz), chopped

1 Tbsp tomato paste

¾ cup cream (your choice, half and half, table cream or whipping cream)

2 Tbsps. (1oz/28gr) butter

½ cup water

4.5oz dried chickpeas, soaked and cooked or 15oz/425g cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed

4.5oz dried beans, soaked and cooked or 15oz/425g cooked red kidney beans, drained and rinsed

1 tsp salt and ½ tsp pepper, to taste 

1. Ideally, soak the split peas for at least an hour before boiling them.
2. If using dry beans, cook in a pot separate from the peas.
3. In a medium saucepan, bring plenty of water to a boil. Add the split peas and a generous pinch of salt and boil about 50 minutes.
4. When the peas are well cooked and just starting to break down, retain 1 cup of the cooking water and drain the rest. Liquify in a blender with some of the cooking water. Set aside with the other cooked beans.
5. Meanwhile, in a large, deep skillet, heat the oil and toast the cumin seeds until they just start to turn colour and are fragrant.
6. Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeño and cayenne and cook over moderate heat until softened, about 6 minutes. 
7. Add the tomato and tomato paste and cook until the tomato is slightly broken down, about 5 minutes. 
8. Add the cream, butter and water and bring to a boil. 
9. Stir in the cooked yellow split peas, chickpeas and beans and season with salt. 
10. Simmer, covered, over low heat until thickened, about 15 minutes. Cook longer if it seems too liquid or if the peas have not broken down into a sauce.

Split Pea and Greens Bharta

It's challenging finding recipes using split peas - I mostly get hits for different variations of pea soup (which is delicious, no doubt!). Putting on my researcher cap, I looked to the far East for inspiration and found this little gem. Meant to be eaten scooped with flatbread or raw veggie sticks. The challenging detail to get this recipe right is the amount of liquid required to create the right consistency - too liquid and it'll be soupy and difficult to pick up with bread or veggie sticks, too thick and it won't process properly. The end product is well worth figuring out these details. Note that it requires soaking time for the peas, which makes it a perfect candidate to eat with Staffordshire Oatcakes, which require at least an hour proofing time.

TIMING: 2hrs soak + 1hr25mins

For the Split Peas
1½ cup yellow split peas
3½ cup water (or more, if needed)

1. Soak the peas for at least 2 hours before boiling.
2. Bring them to a boil then simmer for 30 to 50 minutes, until the peas are fully cooked and tender (don't rush this step, the longer and softer the better).
3. Save 1 cup of the cooking water and drain away any excess, if there is any.
4. Season with salt and allow to cool while preparing the veg.

For the Veg Mixture
1 onion, finely chopped
5 cloves garlic, minced
1 jalapeño, finely diced (or a pinch of red pepper flakes)
1 tsp salt, to taste
8 to 12oz fresh greens (spinach, chard, kale, turnip greens, nettles, etc) finely chopped.

1. Dry-sauté the onion until translucent and golden, about 10 minutes. No oil is required, but you do need to stir frequently to avoid sticking. The onion will soften and a fond will develop, which will largely come up from the liquid expressed from the greens when you add them. If it's all sticking too much, add a splash of water.
2. Add the garlic and cook another 30 seconds, then the hot pepper, greens and salt. Stir to combine and cook until the greens wilt. 

Final Steps
2 tsps dried mint
Water
½ tsp salt or to taste
zest of 1 lime or lemon
2 tsps black pepper

1. Once the greens are perfectly cooked, purée the split peas until smooth or, if you'd rather do it by hand, press through a fine sieve with a wooden spoon. It will be quite thick so, if you're running it through the blender, add water to help it move in the machine. Ideally it should be able to just make a vortex in the blender - it will look too wet but will stiffen in no time.
2. To the just-blended peas briefly add and purée the greens, just to get a rough chop, or chop very fine by hand and thoroughly stir in. If using a machine, do it just so that the veg has passed through once - a little chunky is fine. use some of the pea cooking water to get things moving - the veg mix is quite dry.
3. Combine the lime or lemon zest, pepper and mint and mix into the paste.
4. Adjust the seasoning to your taste. Both peas and any added water absorb the effect of salt on flavor, so it's important to taste and adjust the salt until the flavors pop to your liking.
5. Reheat and serve.

Red Rice

This is the perfect accompaniment to refried beans. Of course, the chicken broth can be replaced by vegetable broth for a vegetarian version.

12 oz fresh tomato, cored
1 onion (6oz/170g)
3 jalapenos or ½ tsp cayenne pepper (for this heat-sensitive, this can be omitted)
2 cups white rice
⅓ cup oil
4 minced garlic cloves
Chicken broth (about 2 cups, subs veg broth for vegetarian)
½ tsp cumin
1½ tsp salt
½ cup fresh cilantro
1 lime cut into wedges

1. Run tomato and onion through a blender to pulverize. Measure out the quantity and add chicken broth until you get a total of 4 cups of tomato-onion-chicken broth.
2. If using: Remove ribs and seeds of jalapeno and mince.
3. Rince the rice under cold water for about 1½ minutes to remove starch for a light and dry cooked rice.
4. Heat the oil in a large pan with straight sides until a few grains of rice sizzle when they hit the oil. Fry the rice until it turns golden, about 7 minutes, adding the garlic partway through to get it to caramelize a bit. (NOTE the rice will likely glom together and get weird, just keep stirring and breaking up the clumps until it dries and stops sticking together and turns a light golden).
5. Add the cumin, cayenne (if using) and salt and stir constantly for about a minute before adding the pulverized veg the broth and pulverized veg.
6. Add the veg-and-broth liquid. Bring to a boil and cover. Stir after 15 minutes to combine everything back together (the veg will tend to separate to the sides), then cook another 5 to 15 minutes until the rice is perfectly cooked.
7. Stir in the jalapeno (if using) and cilantro; allow to rest, off the heat, for another 5 minutes.
8. Serve with lime wedges.