She's a spice girl again: Annalena makes dal

To be completely accurate (she thinks), ragazzi, Khichdi with massour dal.

Let's say that Annalena's command of Indian cooking is lacking. She likes it, in fact, she loves it, but even in NYC, it is difficult to find it well done.  There are places that Annalena loves, which do a sort of hybrid or fusion Indian cooking, but finding good, honest, traditional Indian cooking is not easy.  One friend told Annalena that to get it, you have to have an Indian friend and get invited to dinner. Annalena can do that.

But in the interim, she has to make do with what she can find.  And last week, the  Times published a long article by one of Annalena's heroes, David Tanis, who presented a series of recipes on dals.

To clarify the terminology, a "dal" is a split legume.   And in Indian cooking, there are dozens of these.  So, if you encounter "dal" in a restaurant, ragazzi, it is not improper to ask what kind it is.  What Annalena is presenting here, is one of the simplest ones.  And, it is also really, REALLY good.  It's vegan (if you do it the way Annalena did), it's low calorie, and it will make you feel proud of yourself.  And full.

The hardest thing about this recipe, is finding the spices, if you don't have them.  Annalena believes in a well stocked spice rack, but some of these do not show up often in recipes, so if you don't have them, you are forgiven... for now.  BUT GET THEM.  You will use them.

Another word on this.  The recipe sounds like it is very spicy and hot. Honestly, Annalena would call the spiciness medium, and the hotness, on the low side.  But if you have your doubts, you might leave out the chili peppers, or increase them.  You could also pull out the whole spices at the end.  You MUST pull out the cinnamon stick, and that's easy.

Ok, here we go.  First of all, get a cup of red lentils, and 2 cups of basmati rice.  Mix these up, dry, in a bowl, and then start washing them.  You'll need to do this several times:  cover them with cold water, stir em up (with your hands if you can), drain them, and do it again. When the water runs clear, you're ready for step 2. And that is, cover the mix with cold water and let it sit for an hour.  This step is crucial, for quick cooking later.

Now, for the spices.  You will need three small green chilis (Annalena used Thai bird chilis.  If you only have a jalapeno, use that, but reduce it to two, and if you have serranos, well, you may want to use only one).  Split them down the middle, and use them whole.  You need to know that the veins and the seeds have the heat in them, and you're using both parts in this recipe.  You combine these with half a teaspoon of cumin seeds (you can push this up if you like the taste), 4 cardamom pods (this is where you'll have to shop), a 2 inch cinnamon stick, a half dozen whole cloves, half a teaspoon of tumeric (you'll have to shop here, too) and a half dozen black peppercorns.  Put these all together, and then get the smallest onion you have in the house, and dice it pretty fine.

Now, we are going to do something characteristic of Indian cooking: we're going to fry spice.  To do this,  put  two tablespoons of fat in a pot that you'll use for cooking rice.  Ghee is traditional.  Annalena does not have ghee in the house.  You can use any vegetable oil you like, but she suggests not using olive oil here.  Annalena actually has coconut oil, and she recommends it.  It gives a very nice flavor to the finished dish.    Combine the fat with the spices , and cook them, over medium heat for about two minutes.  Wait for the smell of cumin to come up, and then add the onion.   Cook this pretty strong for about two minutes.  It will begin to brown.

Next, add the drained rice and lentils, and cover this with four cups of water.  Add a big teaspoon of table salt.  Lower the heat, cover the pot, and go away for 10-15 minutes.  Check after ten.  You'll see that the mess has cooked to a very soft consistency, and it will have a slight color, from the lentils and the tumeric.  Taste it.  Does it have enough of what you want? If it doesn't, add a bit more salt, because the other spices will not "take" at this point.

Leave the thing alone for ten inutes, and then fluff it up and serve it forth.


Theoretically, this serves 6-8.  That's in terms of an Indian meal, where there are many courses.  If you are eating THIS as your meal, and you can do that and feel like you got a complete meal, it probably serves four at most.    And that's ok.


This is eating low on the food chain, and it's good.  And tell the truth: beyond possibly having to shop, was this that hard?

Annalena didn't think so.  So, ragazzi, pick your favorite spice girl, and get to work.  Make it when your tummy needs a rest.  It will thank you