Rigatoni with Lentils (Rigatoni con le Lenticchie)

Rigatoni with Lentils (Rigatoni con le Lenticchie)
Adapted by: Lidia's Italy

1 cup small lentils (aka whole masoor dal)
⅓ cup carrot, cut in 1/4-inch dice
1 onion, diced
5 tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil, plus more for drizzling
4 plump garlic cloves, peeled and sliced
½ teaspoon Italian seasoning
1-24 oz. can crushed tomatoes
2 teaspoons kosher salt
1 teaspooon black pepper
2 tbsp red wine vinegar
1 pound rigatoni, or other pasta (reserve pasta water)
2 tablespoons fresh Italian parsley, chopped
1 cup pecorino or parmesan cheese

Rinse the lentils, and put them in the saucepan with the diced carrot and 3 cups cold water. Bring to a boil, cover the pan, and adjust the heat to maintain a gentle, steady simmer. Cook until the lentils are just tender, about 25 minutes (or longer, depending on size). 

When the lentils are almost cooked, pour the olive oil into the large skillet, and set it over medium- high heat. Add onions and sautee for until translucent. Scatter in the garlic slices, and cook for a minute or two, until sizzling and starting to color; sprinkle the Italian seasoning onto the pan bottom to toast as the garlic sizzles. Pour in the crushed tomatoes, slosh out the can with a cup of cold water, pour that into the skillet, stir well, and bring to the boil. Simmer the sauce for 5 minutes or so, just to thicken up a bit. 

When the lentils are tender, pour them into the skillet with the tomatoes, season with the salt and pepper, add red wine vinegar and stir everything together, and heat the sauce to a bubbling simmer. Cook for 25 minutes or so, until the lentils are quite tender and the sauce has thickened to a consistency you like for dressing pasta. If you're going to cook the pasta right away, keep the sauce at a bare simmer. For later use, let it cool, then refrigerate. (If it thickens after cooling, loosen it with pasta water when you reheat it.) 

To cook the rigatoni or other pasta: Fill the big pot with salted water, and heat to a rolling boil. Stir in the pasta, and cook it until barely al dente. Scoop the rigatoni from the water, let drain for a moment, and drop it into the skillet of sauce, simmering over low heat. Toss together for a minute or two, until the rigatoni is evenly dressed and perfectly al dente. 

Turn off the heat, sprinkle on the chopped parsley and a cup of grated cheese, and toss well. Finish with a drizzle of olive oil, toss again, and serve immediately in warm bowls, with more cheese at the table.

Verdict: FIVE Stars!
Notes: Kids thought it was delicious and licked it up. This dish reminded me of an Italian version of Dal Dhokli, which leads me to believe that a gravy version of this cooked with Indian spices would taste really nice with some roti or naan. Next time, I may add some eggplant or mushrooms to this dish to add an additional layer of flavor. I would recommend you try this because it was super easy to make and totally worth the effort.

Southwestern Chili

I think everyone would agree that the ultimate comfort food is a hot bowl of Southwestern chili. With no other explanation required, below is the recipe for what's for dinner tonight.

1 onion, diced
1 jalapeno, deseeded and diced
1 cup multicolored peppers, diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1 tsp garlic paste
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 can pinto beans, drained and rinsed
1 can diced tomatoes, pureed (I use Hunt's fire roasted)
1 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chili powder
Brown sugar or regular sugar to taste
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add the onions and sautee until soft. Then sautee the garlic paste for 30 seconds.
2. Next add the diced jalapenos and colored peppers and sautee for a few minutes.
3. Add the pureed tomatoes next and cook them for about 5 minutes. Also, add the red chili powder, cumin powder, salt, and black pepper.
4. Finally, add the corn, pinto beans, black beans and kidney beans and bring the chili to a boil. Add about 1/2 tsp of brown sugar. Reduce the heat to simmer and let chili slowly cook for about 30-45 minutes. Adjust the taste according to your preference.
5. Garnish chili with your choice of the following: chopped scallions, chopped black olives, chopped tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, and cilantro. My favorite is a generous sprinkle of corn chips. Serve hot with garlic toast or a slice of jalapeno foccacia bread.

Two Dal Damaka with Whole Wheat Parathas

This Two Dal Damaka is a combination of two previous recipes that I have made - the Tomatoey Masoor Dal and Spiced Moong Dal. In this recipe, I added both the masoor dal (red lentils) and moong dal (yellow lentils) together to make a one pot wonder. To make dinner even easier, I served the dal with packaged frozen whole wheat parathas. Here's the recipe ...

3/4 cup masoor dal

3/4 cup moong dal

3 cups water

1/2 onion, chopped

1 tomato, chopped

Pinch of asafoetida powder

1/4 tsp turmeric powder

1/4 tsp red chili powder

1/2 tsp ginger paste

1/2 tsp garlic paste

1/4 tsp green chili paste

1/2 tsp cumin seeds

2 dry red chili bits

Salt to taste

1/2 tsp sugar

1/2 lemon, juiced

Big handful of spinach, chopped

Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Heat up oil in pot. Add the dry red chili bits and cumin seeds and let the seeds sizzle. Remove from heat and add the asafoetida powder next followed by the onions. Cook onions until translucent.

2. Add the ginger, garlic and green chili pastes and cook for 30 seconds. Next, add the tomatoes, turmeric powder, salt, sugar, and red chili powder as well as the water.

3. Bring the dal to a boil and then reduce heat to a simmer. Cook for 25 minutes, adding more water depending on the consistency you prefer. Add the chopped spinach and lemon juice at the last 5 minutes.

4. Stir in the chopped cilantro and the dal is ready!

Dinner was scrumptious. The leftovers were even better for lunch the next day. I changed things up by pureeing the dal to make it soup-like consistency. (I added 1/2 tsp sambhar masala and 1 tsp of lemon juice for added flavor.) Instead of parathas, I served with jeera rice and onion raita. We loved it because the "new" dal tasted a bit different than what we are used to, tasting more South Indian than Gujarati. This one's a keeper, guys!

Italian Spinach and White Bean Soup

We had this simple and satisfying soup for dinner tonight. It was real easy to make and tasted delicious. Here is how I made it ...

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Pinch of thyme and rosemary leaves
1 pinch red pepper flakes (optional)
1 cups vegetable stock
1 can cannellini beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup spinach, chopped
salt and pepper to taste

1. Sautee onions in a little bit of olive oil until translucent. Add the garlic and a few minutes later, drop in the chopped spinach.
2. Cook the spinach until wilted. Then add the rest of the ingredients - beans, salt, pepper, rosemary, thyme, red pepper flakes and vegetable stock.
3. Reduce heat to simmer and cook for 20 minutes. Serve hot with Italian bread.

Tortilla Soup

Tortilla Soup
(Crispy fried strips of corn tortillas in a tomato-based Mexican soup garnished with scallions, cheese, and cilantro)

I made another CPK favorite, tortilla soup, at home. I'm finding this restaurant dining at home really fascinating. I love things spicy, and I always find myself adding hot sauce or chili flakes to my food anytime we eat out. This is so great that we can enjoy the things we enjoy eating out to our particular taste. Not only do you save money, but the best part is that you don't even have to dress up. Here is my version of tortilla soup. Some, if not most, soups are thinner than how ours turned out. We prefer the thicker version. Like I said, make it to your particular palette. Enjoy!

1 can of tomatoes
1 tsp garlic paste
1 cup vegetable stock*
½ red bell pepper, chopped
1 jalapeno pepper, chopped
1 onion, chopped
½ tsp red chili powder
1 tbsp lemon juice
Salt to taste
Garnish with:
Readymade corn tortilla strips **
Shredded pepper jack cheese
Slices of avocado
Chopped scallions
Chopped cilantro

1. Heat oil in pan. Add the onions and sautee until soft. Add the garlic paste next as well as the peppers and sautee for a few minutes.
2. Add the salt and tomatoes next and cook the tomatoes for 5 minutes.
3. Now add in the vegetable stock and red chili powder.
4. Cook the soup for 20 minutes. Once the soup is cooked, liquidize and return the pot back on the stove for final 10 minutes.
5. Finally, add in the lemon juice and some chopped cilantro.
6. Now for garnishing, it's your choice whether you want serve the soup in bowls garnished with tortilla strips and toppings of your choice OR place the tortilla strips in the bowl and pour the soup on top.

* Instead of readymade vegetable stock, I use vegetable buillion cubes. To make your own stock, dissolve one cube in one cup of boiling hot water.

** I used readymade tortilla strips that I found in the salad dressing aisle (beside the croutons). Eventually, I will attempt to make my own strips. It's pretty simple -just cut corn tortillas in long stips and deep fry.

The verdict was a winner. B and I both loved the soup. I cannot really recall whether I have ever tasted the CPK soup, so I have no basis for comparison. It's some good soup. Try it for yourself!

Update: I tried the healthier version by baking the tortilla strips myself. It's so easy. You can use either the corn or flour tortillas. Cut the tortillas into 1/2 inch strips. To make it more fun I cut mine into diamond shapes. Coat the strips with olive oil (and salt and pepper, optional) Lay them out in a single layer on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 minutes. Flip the strips over after 5 minutes, halfway through the cooking process. Voila, you're done!

Chickpea Puree

I never would have thought to make this soup until I saw it done on Food Network. I changed a few ingredients around to make it my own, and it turned out divine. Here you go ...

1/2 onion, diced
1/2 red bell pepper, deseeded and diced
1 jalapeno pepper, deseeded and diced
1 carrot, peeled and diced
1/2 tomato, diced
1/2 can of garbanzo beans, rinsed and drained
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp garlic paste (or about 3 cloves)
1 tsbp Italian seasoning
1/4 tsp ground cumin
1 vegetable stock buillion cube 9or 1 cup vegetable stock)
Salt and black pepper to taste
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1. First, I heated up some water in our handy little kettle. You will need to boil water to dissolve the buillion cube. (You could also just use about a cup of the ready to go vegetable stock. No need to boil that, though!)
2. While that's going, heat oil in pot. Sautee the onions. Then add in the garlic, red peppers and jalapeno peppers. Also, throw in the carrots and tomatoes. Sautee all of the veggies for a few minutes.
3. Next, add the chickpeas, salt, black pepper, Italian seasoning, cumin and red chili powder and mix well.
4. Dissolve the buillion cube in the boiling water. Then, pour a cup of the vegetable stock into the soup and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 25 minutes.
6. Finally, puree the soup, using your blender or a handheld liquidizer. Bring pot back to heat for a few minutes before serving.

I served this chickpea puree with toasted pita chips. Real easy .. just cut up some pita bread into triangles. Lay them down in the toaster oven tray. Drizzle olive oil and season with salt, black pepper and Italian seasoning on top of the bread and toast on 300 degrees F for about 5 minutes. That's it! Here's another look .. I drizzled some red chili oil on top of the soup and it tasted like perfection!

Tuscan Butter Bean Soup

This recipe is really fast, quick and easy to make. I had to make lunch within an hour's time with no veggies in the fridge. I happened to find a can of butter beans in the pantry and it turned out to be a lifesaver! Here's the recipe ...

1 can butter beans, drained and rinsed
1 tsp garlic paste
1 onion, diced
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1/2 cup frozen mixed vegetables (carrots, corn, peas, green beans, lima beans)
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1 tsp Italian seasoning
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add the onions and sautee until soft. Next add the garlic paste and sautee for 30 seconds.
2. Now add the butter beans and potato along with a cup of water.
3. Next add the frozen vegetables along with the spices (salt, black pepper, cumin powder, red chili powder and italian seasoning)
4. Bring the soup to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and let cook for about 20 minutes. Simmer for the last 5-10 minutes before serving.
5. Serve hot with garlic toast.

This soup turned out pretty well. The changes that I would make for next time would be to maybe add celery and fresh carrots. Otherwise, this one is a keeper!

Curried Butternut Squash Soup

I've never cooked with butternut squash before but had tasted a butternut squash curry once during a trip to South Africa and it tasted delish. After we bought the squash, I put it in the refrigerator with all of the other veggies. That was probably a mistake because when it came time to cook it, it was really too hard to chop. I needed a little help from my Sioux chefs. B microwaved the squash for about a minute, Vibha peeled and B seeded and cubed the squash. That was the hard part. The rest was a piece of cake!!

1 onion, diced
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 big butternut squash
1 tsp curry powder *( Did not have on hand so I used garam masala instead)
1 tsp red chili powder
4 vegetable stock buillion cubes plus about 2 cups water (or just add 6 cups vegetable stock/water)
Salt and black pepper to taste
Heavy whipping cream or sour cream (as garnish)

1. Peel and cube the squash into one inch cubes.
2. Bring about 4 cups water to a boil. Remove from heat and drop in the unwrapped buillion cubes. Once the cubes are dissolved with the water, mix well and keep aside.
3. Heat oil in pan. Add the cumin seeds and allow to sizzle. Then add the onions and sautee until soft. Also add the garlic paste and sautee for about 30 seconds.
4. Next add the cubed squash and vegetable stock water.
5. Season with red chili powder, salt, black pepper and curry powder. Bring the soup to a boil. Then reduce heat to simmer and let cook for about 20 minutes.
6. Allow to cool. Then puree the curried squash in a food processor. Return the puree back to the pot and let the soup continue to simmer until ready to serve.
7. When serving, add a tbsp of heavy whipping cream or sour cream and mix well. Enjoy!

A few notes to this recipe: I would have originally just added 6 buillion cubes if I would have known how much soup one squash makes. Water or regular vegetable stock works fine, too. The original recipe calls for curry powder, but since we did not have on hand, I added garam masala instead. Next time I will make with the curry powder to taste the difference. Otherwise, this soup was a hit!! I will definitely be making this one again.

You could also make this recipe up to Step 5 into a squash curry and serve it with roti or rice. Hmm .. good idea that I must try out sometime!!

Minestrone Soup

Minestrone soup is simply an Italian mixture of beans and veggies in a pot with the addition of pasta or rice. How can you go wrong with that!! Here's the recipe for the minestrone that I made this week.

1 onion, diced
1 can kidney beans, drained and rinsed
1/4 cup frozen corn
1 potato, peeled and cubed
1 carrot, peeled and cubed
1/2 green bell pepper, cubed (also used yellow and orange)
1 tsp garlic paste
1/4 tsp dry rosemary
1/4 tsp dry thyme
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1 tsp red chili powder
Salt and black pepper to taste

1. Heat olive oil in pan. Add onions and sautee for few minutes. Also add garlic paste and sautee for 30 seconds before adding the carrots and potatoes. Also add about a cup and half of water and let boil while you finish chopping the rest of the veggies.
2. Add in the peppers and corn along with the salt, black pepper, cumin and red chili powders, and finally the dry rosemary and thyme.
3. Bring the soup to a boil and then reduce heat to simmer. Soup should take about 20 minutes before ready to serve. I probably added about another cup to cup and a half of water. You can eyeball it, though depending on the consistency you prefer.
4. Serve hot with a garnish of sour cream or cheese and a side of garlic toast.

The flavor of the soup was great. There are a few changes that I would make next time around. I would have added a tomato, maybe added garbanzo beans, replaced the potato with chopped celery (or keep the potato- can't make up my mind on that one) and a handful of pasta. I only remembered the pasta after the soup was made already. Next time I will try these changes and take a picture. Stay tuned ...

Dal Makhani

Dal Makhani, also known as "Maa ki Dal" is a Punjabi delicacy and served in most Indian restaurants in this area. The dal consists of a combination of urad dal (whole black lentils) and rajma (red kidney beans) and has a rich creamy texture, hence the name "makhani", which literally means "butter." It may not be the healthiest option, but we are determined to tweak the traditional recipe to make it a healthy and common item in our kitchen menu. Here goes ...

1/2 cup whole black lentils, soaked overnight
Fistful of rajma beans, soaked overnight (you can use canned)
1 onion, finely chopped
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp green chili paste
3 tomatoes, pureed
1/2 tsp red chili powder (or to taste)
1 tbsp Catch Dal Makhani masala
1 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
2 tbsp ghee
1/2 cup heavy cream or milk (optional)
Pinch of asafeotida powd
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Soak the lentils overnight. Then, boil them in a pressure cooker with about 2-3 cups of water until cooked.
2. Heat ghee in pan. Add the cumin seeds and allow to splutter. Then add the asafoetida powder, ginger paste, garlic paste, green chili paste and onions. Sautee onions until translucent.
3. Next, add the pureed tomatoes and allow the tomatoes to cook down and reduce in volume. At this time, you can also add the salt, dal makhani masala, turmeric powder and red chili powder. The tomatoes will take about 8-10 minutes.
4. Add the boiled lentils along with another cup of water to pot and mix well. (Before adding to pot, I mashed half of the mixture.)
5. You may also add 1/2 cup of heavy cream or plain milk. We skipped this step completely as I had already used 2 tbsp ghee! Typically, heavy cream is added to maintain a creamy texture.
6. Simmer the dal makhani for another 8-10 minutes. Adjust seasoning.
7. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with Peas Pulao or flatbread (naan).

Because of the cream used, the dal is meant to be low key in the spice department. We served this Dal Makhani with Peas Pulao and a side of cool cucumber raita tonight for one Sunday's lunch, and it was delicious!

For a light dinner, we transformed the dal makhani into a soup by pureeing some of the dal with 1/2 cup water. We served it with Bhavnesh's homemade spicy Peri Peri sauce and a few Triscuit Rosemary and Olive Oil flavored crackers. How great is that- two meals in one!

Mixed Lentil Soup

Remember the Mixed Lentil Curry I made a few days ago? If not, then click here for the Mixed Lentil Curry recipe.

Well, we had plenty leftover and I thought I would be forced to throw it away. Then, Bhavnesh had this AWESOME idea to turn it into a soup. Here's how he did it:

Leftover lentil curry
1/2 cup water or enough for whichever consistency you prefer
1/2 tsp crushed garlic
1 green chili, slit into pieces
1 tbsp oil

1. Blend the curry up as it is with 1/2 cup of water and remove into serving bowl.
2. Next, heat up oil in small pot. Add the crushed garlic and a few slit green chilies to the oil.
3. Garnish the lentil soup with the garlic infused oil and serve hot.

Many people do not realize this but your basic lentil curries make great soups! This tasted so good that it would make a wonderful appetizer if you were entertaining. Serve with grilled parathas or simple bread or crackers. I think we caught on to something extraordinary!

Oh, and we still have lentil curry leftover. I told you I make enough to feed an army! I definitely need to work on my measurement skills.

Corn and Tomato Soup

Soup is the perfect comfort food during the cold and wintery months. Although it is beginning to warm up here, we still turned to this soup just because ... because we wanted to eat something light ... because we wanted to eat something that would be quick and easy, as it was already 8:30 pm, dinnertime ... just because we were lazy!

We also made this soup because we had absolutely no other veggies in the fridge. I'm in desperate need of buying some groceries. Here is how I made the Corn and Tomato Soup:

4 Roma tomatoes, pureed
2 Roma tomatoes, chopped finely
1.5 cups water
1 onion, chopped finely
1 cup frozen sweet corn, boiled
4-5 garlic cloves, crushed
1 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
1 tbsp tomato paste
1 tbsp ketchup
1 tsp olive oil
1 tsp sugar
Salt to taste
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Boil pot of water. Add the corn to pot and let boil for about 5 minutes. When cool, drain and keep aside.
2. Heat olive oil in same pot. Add the garlic and onions and sautee for few minutes.
3. Next, add the pureed tomatoes along with about 1 cup of water. Let the tomatoes cook for a few minutes before adding the red chili powder, salt, sugar, black pepper, and cumin powder. Also, add in the chopped tomatoes and boiled corn.
4. Add the tomato paste and ketchup to help thicken and sweeten up the soup. Depending on the consistency you are looking for, add more water.
5. Reduce heat to low and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes. Garnish with chopped cilantro before serving.
6. Serve this Corn and Tomato Soup, steaming hot garnished with shredded cheese (optional) and a dollop of yogurt/sour cream along with homemade garlic infused croutons.

Here is how to make the Homemade Garlic Infused Croutons (Bhavnesh's specialty):
3-4 slices of bread
1/2 tsp garlic, crushed
1 tbsp butter
1 tsp oregano seasoning

1. Toast both sides of the toast in griddle until bread is lightly golden brown.
2. Cut the toasted bread slices into bite sized cubes. Keep aside.
3. In same pan, melt the butter and garlic. Also, add in the oregano seasoning. (Keep on low heat.)
4. Toss the cubed bread pieces in and mix together.
5. Serve these Garlic Infused Croutons on top of a hot bowl of Corn and Tomato Soup.

Now, sit back, relax and enjoy!

Rajma Soup

Today's late lunch special was rajma soup with knock off Doritos (It is Saturday, Indulgence Day, after all!) I did not use red kidney beans. Instead, I used "rajma chitra", the lightly speckled kidney bean. Since I did not plan it in advance, I soaked the kidney beans in piping boiling hot water for about 3 hours. I soaked before we left for the gym and once we came back, I washed the beans and then turned on the cooker. It took a ton of whistles in the pressure cooker, but it eventually cooked properly. I'm not completely proud of this recipe. My preference would have been to make it from scratch, but I guess this will work for those times that we are limited in time. So, here is the recipe.

1 cup dry rajma chitra beans (soaked in hot water for 3 hours will make 2 cups)
1 onion, chopped
3 green chilies, minced
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1 packet of Maggi Healthy Soups
Pinch of salt
1/2 tsp cumin powder
1/4 tsp black pepper
Couple shots of hot sauce
1 lemon, juiced
2 tbsp chopped cilantro

1. Soak the beans in boiling water for 3 hours, overnight preferably. Then wash the beans in clean water a few times before placing in pressure cooker along with a little salt and 2 cups water. Pressure cook for 15-20 whistles. Keep to side.
2. Heat olive oil in pot. Sautee the green chilies, onions and garlic for a few minutes. Then add Maggi soup packet along with 4 cups water. Bring to boil. Keep mixing so that no lumps forms.
3. Next add in the black pepper, cumin powder, lemon juice and hot sauce. Mix again.
4. Add the cooked beans and let it come to simmer for about 10 minutes. There was too much water so we added some paste made of corn starch and water to help thicken up the soup.
5. Garnish with chopped cilantro and serve hot with breadsticks, garlic bread or by itself.

I did not add too much spices because the Maggi packet had spices in it already. Overall, it was a nice simple meal, and it tasted great.

Paanchdal Masala

This dal is based from a mix of five different lentils, mainly urad dal, toor dal, masoor dal, yellow moong dal, and channa dal. Hence the name, "Paanch" means five. I wanted to experiment with these different lentils to see what we could create by putting them all together in one dish. I made this dal milder than how I usually make the Gujarati dhal so I went easy on the spices. Here goes ...

1/2 cup toor dal
1/4 cup masoor dal
1/4 cup urad dal
1/4 cup yellow moong dal
1/4 cup channa dal
2" piece ginger, grated
2 tomatoes, grated
1/4 tsp red chili powder
1/2 tsp coriander powder
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp ghee
Pinch of asafoetida powder
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 lemon, juiced
Salt to taste
1/2 tsp sugar (optional)
Chopped cilantro for garnish

1. Soak all five dals together for an hour or two. Wash the dals out before putting them in to boil in pressure cooker. Add enough water to cook the dals. I added about 5 cups. Also add a pinch of salt. Pressure cook for 5-6 whistles. Allow to cool down.
2. Check to make sure lentils are fully cooked. If so, puree the dal mixture until smooth. *
3. Remove the dal puree from pressure cooker into pot. Heat the dal on medium flame while you add the ingredients.
4. Start by adding the tomato puree, grated ginger, red chili powder, coriander powder, salt and sugar, if using. Let dal come to boil, then reduce heat to low. Garnish with lemon juice and chopped cilantro.
5. Meanwhile, make the tadka seasoning, by heating ghee in small handheld tadka pan. Add the cumin seeds. Allow to splutter and then add the asafoetida powder. Remove from heat and garnish dal with tadka.
6. Serve hot with Kundru-Potato Fry and roti or rice.

* WARNING: Cooking these dals was a total mess and did I mention time consuming. I added 5 whole cups of water and it was not enough. Also, the dals weren't cooked properly (I think channa dal mostly) so I had to turn the pressure cooker back on again. When I checked again, they were cooked but still not enough water so some of it stuck to bottom of cooker. Finally, I scooped the good stuff that was on top and worked with that. I definitely need to cook less measurements of dal, maybe a handful of each next time and also get the water measurements right!

As far as final product, you can definitely taste all the different flavors that each of the five lentils contribute to the dish, from sour to sweet to tangy. It would also make a great Indian lentil soup, if served alone. It's worth a try. We gave it Three Stars because we only have tastebuds for our Gujarati dhal!

Spicy Gazpacho Revisited

We made the spicy gazpacho tonight so that we can enjoy it for tomorrow's dinner. It turned out perfect that we happened to have all of the ingredients. While we were making the gazpacho, we referred back to the old recipe from the last time we made it, and I realized that it was not completely accurate. Here is our second attempt. I say "our" because Bhavnesh helped me! =)

1 onion, chopped

4 small tomatoes, chopped
1 small cucumber, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 small green bell peppers, chopped

2 green chilies, chopped

2 tbsp jalapenos, chopped

2 tsp salt

1 tsp black pepper

1 tsp red chili powder

1 tsp cumin powder

4 big garlic cloves

1 lemon, juiced

Freshly chopped cilantro

1 tbsp olive oil

1 tbsp brown vinegar

6 oz. tomato paste

24 oz. water

1. Dice all of the veggies, including the bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, carrot, cucumber, and jalapenos.

2. Process the green chilies. Crush the garlic cloves.

3. In food processer, add the green chilies, garlic, cumin powder, red chili powder, tomato paste and water. Process together.

4. Mix the chopped veggies with cilantro, lemon juice, vinegar, cumin powder and olive oil.

5. Add 1/2 of the veggie mixture to processor with chili-garlic mixture and process until smooth.

6. Mix the processed mixture in bowl with chopped veggies and mix everything together. Adjust seasoning per taste. (You will definitely need to add something or another. Lack of salt was the big thing for us, but you need it due to the amount of veggies we are adding.)

7. REfrigerate for a few hours (overnight preferably) to allow flavors to come together. Enjoy with garlic bread or Spiced Brown Rice Cakes!

Indian Soup (Rasam)

Today, I am not feeling that good. You know that feeling you get when you can barely taste a thing that you are eating. It almost makes you not want to eat anything at all. I felt in the mood for some soup, and researched recipes for a Chinese soup to compliment the Chinese dinner tonight. Unfortunately, what I found was hot and sour soup with eggs in it. Another key ingredient would be mushrooms, which we do not have available. Then I found this recipe for a rasam, also known as soup. Looking at the ingredients, it's almost like dhal, but it looks a little toned down on the spice. I'm gonna try it out anyway ...

6 cups water
1 tbsp toor dal
1.5 tbsp jaggery
1/4 tsp turmeric powder
1 tsp salt
1/2 tbsp blackpepper
1/2 tbsp coriander powder
1/2 tbsp cumin powder
6 cloves garlic, crushed
2" piece ginger, grated
1 tbsp ghee
1/2 tsp asafoetida powder
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1. Bring the 6 cups of water to a boil.
2. Grind the toor dal with black pepper, coriander powder and cumin powder to a fine powder. Add to pot of boiling water.
3. Next add the crushed garlic and grated ginger.
4. If you have rasam powder, add half a tsp of that (totally optional, though.)
5. Bring the pot to a boil, lower the flame and cook for 10-15 minutes.
6. Let cool for 5 minutes or so. and then strain the soup.
7. For seasoning, heat up the ghee. Add the mustard seeds, cumin seeds and asafoetida powder. When the seeds fully pop, remove from heat and garnish the soup. Top it off with chopped cilantro and serve hot as soup or with rice.

Although the rasam helped me feel a bit better, this recipe is going under "Flops."
A.) Firstly, the rasam was too thin for my taste, maybe because we did not use enough toor dal. Instead of 1
tbsp, it should have been about 1/2 cup.
B.) Secondly, the toor dal should have been cooked properly in pressure cooker before even adding to pot.
The flavor tasted a little like raw spices, too. It was hot and sweet, and at the same time a bit mustardy.
C.) Should have added tomato to help thicken it up a little bit.

Rasam is a south Indian soup. There are many different varieties, which I hope to try out. This particular one may not make it on the list because we Gujaratis prefer our toor dal, just the way it is -- with our bhatt!