This is a quick and easy recipe when you have a thermo-machine. Don’t leave, you guys who haven’t taken the plunge, the recipe is for you too. You’ll just need to stand there and stir :) Which is an activity I need sometimes, to clear my head.
But on school nights, I stick to my beloved Magimix Cook Expert, because it does the job for me, and while it stirs, I can bathe my youngest monkey, set the table and have a fresh beer.
Smoky dal or dhal is an Indian dish made of lentils, potatoes and spices. It is warm, earthy and totally perfect when, like me, you have a nasty cold due to our Indian summer which literally screeched to a stop… My new Maine Coon companion and dodgy oil heater were not enough to keep me warm apparently…
This is a very easy straight forward recipe. What is a bit fancy there, is the choice of spices. You can swap with more basic ones, but be generous!
So here is my smoky dal recipe:
- 1 small red onion (or échalote)
- 1 generous dash of olive oil
- 250g (preferably firm) potatoes
- 2 tbs curry mix
- 2 tbs garam masala (or curry mix)
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 or 2 big brown cardamom pods (depending on how smoky you want the dish to be)
- 1 tbs ½ coriander seeds
- 1 tbs ½ cumin seeds
- ½ tsp of smoked paprika
- 250g red lentils
- 200g organic coconut milk or cream (I prefer cream)
- 300 g water
- 400g canned tomatoes (crushed, diced or whole cut in two)
- Salt and pepper
- Fresh coriander/cilantro (around half a bunch)
- Pink peppercorn to decorate.
- Peel onion and cut in 4.
- Place in metal bowl and chop using program EXPERT 30 sec, at 13 and no temperature, with the lid on. Scrape down.
- Add olive oil and all the spices (except fresh coriander). Fry for 4 mins - speed 2A - 120°C.
- Add all the ingredients except half the fresh coriander. Cook for 40 mins - speed 1A - 105°C.
- Check if there is enough salt, if necessary add some more and turn 1 more min on 1A.
- Serve with fresh coriander and pink peppercorn.
- Cleaning the bowl can be tricky. Use the rinsing program and leave to soak (metal bowl and blade overnight if necessay).
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