#EdenCooks - Punjabi Red Lentils and Chapatis - Thu. Sept 8 at 8pm EDT

Contributor: potstickers potstickers
Oooh! I love Indian food! The only time I've had lentils was in Ethiopian food, though.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
My boy used to be a cake decorator, but now he refuses to do anything in the kitchen other then push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I think I'd fall right over if he decorated a cake for me.
Wow---if I knew how to do it, I think I'd be decorating all the time!
09/08/2011
Contributor: ellejay ellejay
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
My boy used to be a cake decorator, but now he refuses to do anything in the kitchen other then push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I think I'd fall right over if he decorated a cake for me.
Ooh, it'd be nice if he surprised you with one someday!
09/08/2011
Contributor: Sir Sir
Quote:
Originally posted by ToyGurl
lmao! yeah, my really good friend claims that culinary school was 99% a waste of time for her. she said it was things you could learn simply from youtube or the cooking channel. it was common sense. other than that, like you said, decorating!
Not necessarily. My sister attended culinary school and learned a great deal, but then again, she had good professors. She also worked at Cinderella's castle in Magic Kingdom.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Elaira Elaira
I'm stuffing my face with some sushi at the moment. I couldn't resist.

Oh, I couldn't find red lentils, so I just got regular ones. Is there much of a difference between them?
09/08/2011
Contributor: Sir Sir
Quote:
Originally posted by potstickers
Oooh! I love Indian food! The only time I've had lentils was in Ethiopian food, though.
God, Ethiopian. Ah, man...
09/08/2011
Contributor: ToyGurl ToyGurl
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
My boy used to be a cake decorator, but now he refuses to do anything in the kitchen other then push a couple of buttons on the microwave. I think I'd fall right over if he decorated a cake for me.
Awwwww how cool! The closest my man ever came to cooking was when he worked at a mexican food restaurant. He was one of the chefs. But it was a really quickie as far as a job. He was done and out of that place within months and off to the military.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by potstickers
Oooh! I love Indian food! The only time I've had lentils was in Ethiopian food, though.
Mmmm... misir key wot!
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
I'm stuffing my face with some sushi at the moment. I couldn't resist.

Oh, I couldn't find red lentils, so I just got regular ones. Is there much of a difference between them?
The red ones are split, so they'll cook a little bit faster than the non-split ones. Not too much difference in time, though. You also might want to mash yours a little with a potato masher once they're done to get a more cohesive texture. Delicious either way!
09/08/2011
Contributor: ToyGurl ToyGurl
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
I'm stuffing my face with some sushi at the moment. I couldn't resist.

Oh, I couldn't find red lentils, so I just got regular ones. Is there much of a difference between them?
In taste, yes a little. Actually they feel a little different too when you cook them. Nonetheless, they are all pretty delicious.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
All right, we've got a pretty good crowd here, so I'm going to get started!
Welcome, everyone, to my very first meeting of Eden Cooks! I hope you've all brought your senses of humor in case mine leaves something to be desired, after our previous meetings were hosted by the dazzling Alys and the tart and saucy Vaccinium.

I'm looking forward to sharing my most-commonly-made recipe with you all. "Masoor daal" is delicious, healthy (proteins and grains, along with several vegetables), and it doesn't take any longer to cook than spaghetti. (I should add---once you're practiced, this takes just under 30 minutes total to make. The first time, you might want to make chapatis the night before, refrigerate them, and reheat them on the skillet or in the microwave the next day. They're very simple to make--- you *will* get it right the first time---but doing it *fast* takes a little practice.

I originally got this recipe from "The Spice Box: Vegetarian Indian Cookbook" by Manju Shivraj Singh, and made some modifications for myself. Two years ago I became good friends with some people from Punjab, the northwesternmost state in India, and they were very willing to help me perfect my technique. They laughed at me for eating masoor daal at dinner so often, because for them it was usually a breakfast dish! (The faster cooking time than most other beans meant it could be served on time without the mother/sisters waking up hours before the rest of the family.)


Trivia: The traditional land of Punjab was split up into India and Pakistan by Britain. So both India and Pakistan have a Punjab state, and they share their border.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Vaccinium Vaccinium
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
All right, we've got a pretty good crowd here, so I'm going to get started!
Welcome, everyone, to my very first meeting of Eden Cooks! I hope you've all brought your senses of humor in case mine leaves something to be desired, after ... more
I've never before been called "tart and saucy."
09/08/2011
Contributor: Elaira Elaira
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
The red ones are split, so they'll cook a little bit faster than the non-split ones. Not too much difference in time, though. You also might want to mash yours a little with a potato masher once they're done to get a more cohesive texture. ... more
Being in a vegeratian household has opened me up to all of these things you can cook with that aren't "rice and beans". My pantry is full of things like TVP and quinoa and dried beans. Ever had sloppy bean joes by mashing kidney and black beans instead of ground beef? Delicious.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Vaccinium
I've never before been called "tart and saucy."
You named yourself after a cousin of my favorite fruit, so that's how I always think of you!
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
Being in a vegeratian household has opened me up to all of these things you can cook with that aren't "rice and beans". My pantry is full of things like TVP and quinoa and dried beans. Ever had sloppy bean joes by mashing kidney and ... more
Mmhm! I add a lot of spices too, but they can be incredibly good.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
I know I posted the ingredients already, but I thought I'd do it again, and give everyone a chance to discuss where to get ingredients if they're not sure.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

So let's take a look at what we need to serve six people! (Or, if you live alone, this makes one week's worth of healthy packed lunches---daal keeps in the fridge a long time, or you can freeze it)



In three parts:
In the middle is the bean step.
1 cup split red lentils
3 cups water
1 Tbsp sweet acid (lemon juice, tamarind juice)


On the left is the chapati step.
2 cups "chaki atta," or all purpose flour.*

0.5 cup warm water, and a cup with water to dip your fingers in.
1 stick of butter for dabbing on the chapatis as they cook.

*Chaki atta (Golden Temple or Sujata are some popular brands) is a very fine grind of whole wheat flour with some bran added. It's a pretty color, and the flavor is nice and nutty. If you don't live by an Indian market, you might have a hard time finding this---so just to make sure it works with all-purpose flour, that's what I used in these pictures. Find it if you can, but don't sweat it if you can't. I've also seen people do 1 cup all purpose flour + 1 cup whole wheat flour, to give a little of the nuttiness.

On the right is the flavor step.
1 Tbsp ghee, butter, or oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 onion
1 clove garlic, (minced)
enough fresh ginger (minced) to make ~1 tsp
2-5 bird's eye chilis (Thai chilis)---to taste!

dried spices:
2 tsp turmeric
1 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp salt


(All of these spices except garam masala come from my standard grocery store, garam masala I order from Penzey's. If you're having a hard time finding each of the individual spices, you could use a pre-mixed "curry powder," but you won't be able to have quite as much fun!)

I cook the lentils in a medium saucepan, the spices in a small skillet, and the chapatis in a large skillet. You'll also have more fun with chapatis if you use a rolling pin. When I lived with roommates with an electric pancake griddle, chapatis were even easier to make---so if you have a griddle I'd suggest using that.
09/08/2011
Contributor: potstickers potstickers
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
Being in a vegeratian household has opened me up to all of these things you can cook with that aren't "rice and beans". My pantry is full of things like TVP and quinoa and dried beans. Ever had sloppy bean joes by mashing kidney and ... more
I LOVE spelt but I can't find any stores that sell it anywhere near my house.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova

Do you know if you can find these ingredients where you live? Or should I go into more detail about anything? I'll pause a minute here to make sure you've all got time.
09/08/2011
Contributor: ellejay ellejay
I love how colorful the ingredients are!
09/08/2011
Contributor: Jul!a Jul!a
I am most definitely going to have to try and make this at home some time. I've tried making chapatis before, but I apparently suck at it. I suck even more at the rice pancake things I can't remember the name of. I let it sit in the heat too long and changed how it cooked. Super lame lol
09/08/2011
Contributor: Starkiller87 Starkiller87
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

Do you know if you can find these ingredients where you live? Or should I go into more detail about anything? I'll pause a minute here to make sure you've all got time.
I think I could, there sre a lot of small shops in los angeles county that cater to ton of different cultures.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by potstickers
I LOVE spelt but I can't find any stores that sell it anywhere near my house.
I've ordered strange grains from Amazon before. (It's really hard to find Teff, if you're trying to make injera and you don't live near an Ethiopian community...)
09/08/2011
Contributor: Elaira Elaira
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova

Do you know if you can find these ingredients where you live? Or should I go into more detail about anything? I'll pause a minute here to make sure you've all got time.
I'd think that Whole Foods or a similar place would have most of these things because they're heavy in ethnic dishes. The only thing I had to run out and get was the lentils and the "curry powder", and that was just a chain grocery store.
09/08/2011
Contributor: potstickers potstickers
Quote:
Originally posted by ellejay
I love how colorful the ingredients are!
That's one thing I love about Indian food: such colorful spices! That means they're healthy.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Jul!a
I am most definitely going to have to try and make this at home some time. I've tried making chapatis before, but I apparently suck at it. I suck even more at the rice pancake things I can't remember the name of. I let it sit in the heat ... more
Dosas, you mean? I haven't tried them yet, but I've had middlin' success with idli. Chapatis are pretty straightforward, though, no fermenting to throw you off!
09/08/2011
Contributor: Starkiller87 Starkiller87
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
I'd think that Whole Foods or a similar place would have most of these things because they're heavy in ethnic dishes. The only thing I had to run out and get was the lentils and the "curry powder", and that was just a chain grocery store.
That is true whole foods might have most of it. I wonder if trader joes would, I have one about 2 blocks down from me.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Antipova Antipova
Quote:
Originally posted by Elaira
I'd think that Whole Foods or a similar place would have most of these things because they're heavy in ethnic dishes. The only thing I had to run out and get was the lentils and the "curry powder", and that was just a chain grocery store.
And the curry powder you picked seems like it covers all your bases pretty well, here.
09/08/2011
Contributor: Elaira Elaira
On a slightly related note, I have a WONDERFUL recipe for ham and egg stuffed rolls I want to do a workshop for in the future!
09/08/2011
Contributor: Elaira Elaira
Quote:
Originally posted by Antipova
And the curry powder you picked seems like it covers all your bases pretty well, here.
Thank Kroger for that one. It was in the cheap spice section, even.
09/08/2011