The Radish as Comfort Food

It's a sambar...it's a rasam...it's a dal with features of both; a totally inauthentic recipe but so tasty that you should try it anyway.

I owe a great debt to food bloggers- really I do. It is very nice to learn how to make impressive desserts and elaborate dishes for special occasions. But the coolest thing is when blogs teach me fresh new ideas for everyday meals and different ways to cook the same ol' vegetables that end up in my crisper week after week.

Radishes were mainly a salad vegetable in my life until a few years ago when I noticed wonderful ways to cook them into a main dish here on Mahanandi and here on Aayi's recipes. Over the years, this radish dal has evolved in my kitchen based on those recipes and remains one of the greatest hits on the dinner rotation.

The trick here is to work quickly and not let the dal simmer for too long. You will be rewarded with radishes that are cooked long enough to soak up all the delicious flavors but that remain juicy enough to make every bite a treat.

Radish Dal 

1. Cook ¹⁄₂ cup toor dal and set it aside.

2. Start with the tempering

• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds
• 1 pinch asafetida
• 1 sprig fresh curry leaves

3. Add 1 large bunch red radishes, sliced into coins or half moons. If the radish greens are attached to the bunch and if they look fresh, chop up the greens and add them too. White radish (daikon) will work perfectly well here too.

4. Add the spices:

• ¹⁄₂ tsp. turmeric
• ¹⁄₂ tsp. red chilli powder
• 1-2 tsp. of your favorite rasam or sambar powder
• 1 tbsp. tamarind paste
• Salt to taste

5. Stir for a minute, then add 1 cup water and let the radishes cook for 3-4 minutes.

6. Add the cooked toor dal and more water if needed and simmer for 5 minutes.

7. Taste and make sure the balance of salt, spice and tangy flavors is just right. Let the dal sit for at least 20 minutes before serving and serve over freshly steamed rice.

I finally got around to making ghee at home, and a dollop of this home made ghee transforms dal-rice into something even more special. The picture shows what little was left after V and I finished eating.

Please check back on Monday night for the round up of Blog Bites 8, where it is all about one dish meals. Entries will be welcomed all weekend. I'll include my own entry in that post.

Have a great weekend, all!

Lentils with Peanuts

The daily bread for me (like for many Indians) is actually daily rice and dal. I was so excited when Suma announced the Delicious Dals of India event. Adding a few new dal recipes into the dinner rotation can only be a good thing.

Growing up, the everyday dal was the simplest ever- varan. On other days, there was amti. In fact quite often, leftover varan would be converted to amti. Other types of dals were made off and on. This was one of them- masoor (whole lentils) cooked with mild spices and peanuts.

This mild dal gets most of its flavor from cumin and coriander. As is quite typical with the Brahmani variety of Maharashtrian cooking, it has some sweetness from jaggery and some tangy from dried kokum fruit. You can substitute tamarind for the latter.

I like using tiny brown lentils from the Indian store in this recipe (for some reason, it is labeled "masoor matki"), but any lentils will do.

Masoor Shengdana Amti

{Lentil stew with Peanuts}

1. Cook in the pressure cooker-

• 1 cup brown lentils (whole masoor)
• ¹⁄₃ cup raw peanuts

2. In another pot, do the tempering-

• 2 tsp. oil
• 1 tsp. mustard seeds

3. Add 1 medium chopped onion and saute until translucent.

4. Add spices and stir for a few seconds-

• ¹⁄₂ tsp. turmeric 
• ¹⁄₂ tsp. red chilli powder (or more to taste)
• 2 tsp. cumin-coriander powder
• ¹⁄₂ tsp. garam masala

5. Add the following and simmer for 5 minutes-

• Cooked lentil-peanut mixture
• Small lump of jaggery
• 4-5 pieces of dried kokum
• Salt to taste
• Water as required to get the desired consistency

This dal tastes even better if you let it rest for 30 minutes or so before serving. Serve it with any bread or with steamed rice. Garnish it with a handful of chopped cilantro if you wish.

This dal goes to Suma for the Delicious Dals of India event.

Once the entries are posted, I'll be busy making everyday meals special by trying dals from other homes. Isn't it extraordinary that humble lentils and everyday spices can be put together in so many permutations and combinations?

If you grew up eating home-style Indian food, what was the go-to dal in your home?

W is for WARAN-BHAAT

This article is part of a special series called "The A-Z of Marathi food". India is the land of diversity. Each of the 28 states in India has a unique cuisine but the Indian food served in restaurants represents only a tiny fraction of our culinary heritage. I come from the western Indian state of Maharashtra. Capital: Bombay (Mumbai). Population: 96 million (only 11 countries in the world have a population higher than Maharashtra). Language: Marathi. Traditional Marathi food is earthy and humble, diverse and very tasty. It also remains relatively unknown to non-marathis. Its time to change that. I invite you to join me on an alphabetical culinary tour of my state. We will go through the letters A to Z and make a dish with each letter to show-case Marathi cuisine.

W is for Waran-Bhaat.

Moving on to "W", I knew there was but one thing I wanted to make. A meal that embodies simplicity and humility. After weeks and months of eating spicy curries and using recipes with complex spice mixtures, our palates need a break!

The food that babies and toddlers are fed all over the world has many common attributes: it is bland, mushy and nourishing. As we grow up, our tastes mature and it is exciting to try different flavors, spicy and exotic. But every so often, especially in times of crisis and stress, we find outselves craving that primeval mouth-feel of comfort food.

This comfort food has different versions all over the world. It might take the form of small pasta shapes dressed simply with butter and cheese...the simplest form of macaroni and cheese. Or peanut butter and jelly. Or chicken-noodle soup. In Marathi food, that simple comforting dish is Waran-Bhaat.

Waran is a the simplest form of dal. In my grandmom's version, toor dal (split yellow peas) is cooked to mushy goodness, then mashed up and dressed with some curry leaves and a sprinkling of salt and turmeric. This dal is served with some fresh steamed rice (bhaat). The duo of the dal and rice is eaten with the mandatory dollop of ghee (toop), a wedge of lemon (limbu) and some salt (meeth) on the side. Thus we have the glorious platter of Waran-Bhaat-Toop-Limbu-Meeth, the magic words that transport the Marathi soul to simpler times.

On one of those inevitable days when you feel harrassed and stressed out, a bit under the weather, and the thought of eating a full meal is too unappetizing, try this simple meal. It is designed to lift the spirits and make you feel like all is right with the world again.

Waran-bhaat is also the first course in the traditional meal served at Marathi weddings. You eat a small amount of waran-bhaat before moving to to the rich festive dishes. Maybe it is a symbolic recapitulation of our taste in food, or just a tribute to this simple and delicious food.

Note: I know that what I am spelling as "waran" should technically be spelled "varan", but you will let that one slide, won't you?

Waran-Bhaat

(serves 3-4 as a full meal; ready in 30-40 minutes)


Ingredients:
1 cup rice
1 cup toor dal 
5-6 fresh curry leaves
1/4 tsp turmeric
salt to taste

To serve:
Wedges of fresh lemon
Kosher salt (or any coarse salt)
Ghee (clarified butter)
Fresh steamed rice 

Method:
Soak the dal for 20-30 minutes. Rinse several times, then cook (on stove-top or microwave or pressure cooker) till the dal is completely cooked. Use the back of a ladle to mash the dal into a coarse pulp. 

Add salt, turmeric and curry leaves and enough water to get the dal to the desired consistency. Bring to a boil and then turn the heat off. 

Meanwhile, cook the rice till tender. Ladle the dal onto a mound of rice, with a dollop of ghee on the dal. Serve lemon and salt on the side, to be mixed in as desired.


Notes

• If you want to include vegetables in this meal, any simple stir-fry will do. Classic combinations include waran-bhaat with pan-fried potatoes or cabbage stir fry, and waran-bhaat with a milder version of matki usal.
• If tomatoes are in season, serve some fresh sliced ripe tomatoes with waran-bhaat for a special treat.
• The important thing is to eat this meal right after it is cooked, while it is steaming hot. In Marathi, the term for freshly steamed rice is pahilya vafecha which means "of the first steam" and this kind of rice is considered nothing short of a delicacy!

Hope you enjoyed this palate-cleansing food! We shall meet soon for another wild-card letter, the mysterious "X" of Marathi food.