Rhubarb Dal

Indian dals, or lentils,  are some of the simplest and most flavorful recipes around, not to mention frugal.  I make lots of dals from the recipes at Quick Indian Cooking when I am eating at home by myself because they come together so fast and they are relatively healthy.  It keeps me away from Taco Bell.  Most of the time...

A while back I commented on another lentil recipe that looks really tasty over at Ma Vie en Food.  Sarah, the author of the blog, also directed me to two other lentil recipes.  Since I have some rhubarb from last summer chopped up in the freezer I thought I'd give this recipe a try.  I don't really know what to do with rhubarb besides dessert sorts of things, and Wade and I are neither one big fans of sweet things.  The tanginess of rhubarb blends unexpectedly well with savory, earthy Indian spices.  I improvised a bit and meshed together a couple of spices and cooking techniques from other dal recipes.  This is very healthy and filling when served over brown rice with a little bit of lemon juice and chutney.

•1 cup dried red lentils
•1/2 teaspoon turmeric
•1 1/2 cups chopped rhubarb
•1 small onion, diced finely
•2 Tablespoons ginger, minced
•2 Tablespoons garlic, minced
•4 green cardamom pods
•4 whole cloves
•1 Tablespoon ghee, or vegetable oil
•1 teaspoon black pepper
•1 dried red chile
•1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•Salt, to taste

Place the red lentils, turmeric, rhubarb, onion,  garlic, ginger, cardamom, and cloves in a medium sized saucepan.  Cover with water by about two inches.  Bring to a boil over medium high heat.  Continue cooking until the lentils become tender and begin to disintegrate, adding water as necessary.  Heat the ghee or oil in a small skillet over medium heat.  Add the dried pepper, black pepper, cumin seeds, and cayenne.  Cook, stirring constantly, for about one minute.  The spices should have a pungent smell, but not smell burned.  Remove the dried pepper and stir the mixture into the lentils.  Season with a little salt, if desired.  Serve over rice with some lemon and chutney.

Homemade Garam Masala

Our garam masala jar was getting low.  When I went to purchase another jar at our regular grocery store, they didn't have any.  So I checked at the other store across town when I was in the neighborhood.  No luck.  The two natural food stores didn't have it either.  What used to be a relatively easy spice to find in town is now appears to be completely gone.

Well, there is no way we are giving up our Indian food, so I decided to make my own. I tasted the homemade version alongside the last little bit left in the store bought jar. They are a nearly perfect match.

I just love it when I find another thing thing that we don't need to buy at the store anymore.  I don't have a spice grinder (though I really need to get one) so I made this spice blend out of pre-ground spices.  In our household we go through spices so quickly they never really have a chance to get old and lose their flavor.  This recipe makes about one cup because we use it a lot when we cook.  It can easily be cut in half or thirds.

Homemade Garam Masala
Adapted from Khana Pakana

•3 Tablespoons ground cumin
•3 Tablespoons ground coriander
•2 Tablespoons ground black pepper
•2 Tablespoons ground cardamom
•1 1/2 teaspoons ground cloves
•1 1/2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
•1 1/2 teaspoons ground nutmeg

Mix all spices together in a small saucepan.  Toast lightly over medium low heat for about five minutes, stirring often.  Cool completely and transfer to an airtight container.

Winging It: Summer Squash Curry

The end of the summer is always a bittersweet time in the kitchen.  I look forward to heartier meals of winter squash, pumpkin, apples, cabbage, sausage, red meats, etc. but I also try to hang on to the last bit of summer produce for as long as possible.  


We had a ton of leftover rice from when we had beef enchiladas the other night, (I never make the right amount, there is always way too much or not enough) so we decided that we needed to use that up.  We also had a few summer squash on the counter that needed to be used before they got all shriveled.


Wade and I originally planned to make Madhur Jaffrey's recipe for Mushroom Curry, subbing out  the mushrooms for summer squash, but as usually happens when we cook together, the dish turned into something completely different altogether.  It was spicy, filling, and complex, and luckily also super easy.


•1 large zucchini, sliced
•1 large summer squash, sliced
•1 1/2 inch piece fresh ginger
•1 large onion, cut into large chunks
•3 cloves garlic, peeled
•2 Tablespoons vegetable oil (or ghee, if you have it)
•1/2 cup plain yogurt
•1 medium to large tomato, chopped finely
•2 teaspoons ground coriander
•1/2 teaspoon tumeric
•1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•1 teaspoon ground cumin
•Salt and Pepper to taste
•1 teaspoon garam masala
•A handful of fresh, chopped cilantro
•Cooked rice


Pulse the ginger, garlic, and onion together in a food processor until very, very finely chopped.  Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium high heat. Saute the sliced squash just until it starts to soften.  This should only take about 3-4 minutes.  You don't want to overcook the squash. Remove the squash with a slotted spoon and set aside.  

Add the onion mixture to the skillet and cook, stirring occasionally, until the onions begin to brown.  Add the yogurt, a little at a time, until thoroughly incorporated into the onion mixture.  Add the chopped tomato. Add all of the spices, except for the garam masala and stir well.  Add the squash back into the sauce and heat through.  Stir in the cilantro and garam masala just before serving. Serve over rice.  

My Take on Sagg Aloo

Saag Aloo is a British Indian curry made with spinach and potatoes.  I'm completely addicted to Indian food, and this is a really simple recipe to make with ingredients that are nearly always on hand at our house.

While I originally found this recipe at one of my favorite cooking blogs, Quick Indian Cooking, I have messed around with some spices and ingredients to suit our tastes.  So, my version of Saag Aloo is probably not terribly authentic, but still tasty nonetheless.  I have added cayenne pepper to up the spiciness of the dish because the two of us can never have enough spice.  Since frozen spinach looks sort of well, blah, I added some turmeric to brighten up the color.  The addition of yogurt provides a nice texture and helps the spices blend and mellow together.

•2 tablespoons coconut oil
•1 onion, chopped
•3 cloves garlic, chopped
•1 10 oz package frozen spinach, thawed (can also substitute fresh spinach if it is available)
•2 tablespoons lemon juice
•2 long green chilies, chopped- I used a couple Anaheim chilies from the garden.  Serranos or jalapenos would work as well.
•4 small potatoes, diced into medium chunks
•1 teaspoon cumin
•1 teaspoon coriander
•1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
•1/2 teaspoon turmeric
•1/2 teaspoon garam masala
•Salt, to taste.
•1/2 cup plain yogurt, or greek yogurt

Thaw the spinach in the microwave.  Mix together the spinach, chilies, and lemon juice set aside.  Heat the coconut oil in a large skillet over medium high heat.  Add the onions and garlic and cook until golden, about five minutes.  Add the potatoes and all of the spices except the garam masala.  Cook for a few minutes more being careful to not let the spices burn.  Add the spinach mixture and about two cups of water to the pan, just to barely cover the potatoes.  Turn heat down to medium.  Cover and simmer until the potatoes are tender, stirring occasionally.  This took about 20 minutes. Stir in yogurt and garam masala. Salt to taste.

Saag Aloo is great served with steamed rice and nann bread, maybe with a cucumber yogurt salad on the side.