Foodie ramblings

I am a bit of a home body really.

My home or someone else's no problem. I also love to travel and experience new places- the most joy comes when I get to meet people.

I love to see where they live, all the monuments and beautiful places become more real when I can add a personal perspective to it.

For me, to get up super early and wander the streets as people wake up and get ready for the day is a very special time. It feels like a more personal insight than looking at the world when their Day Face is on and people are out and about their work. You can see why the Post Colonial World [ I say that rather than Developing World because they are not backward and trying to catch up- they were plundered for the benefit of the Colonial Powers and are trying to get on their feet] is my place... a lot more of life happens on the streets too.

Long before I had the opportunity to travel I used to imagine what places would be like through cooking- I'd borrow recipe books from the library [ as we did before the wonders of the verb "Google it" came along] and try to find a sense of the exotic through the flavours.

I cooked Indian for 20 years before I got to eat in India. What a treat, I had been on the right track but getting into people's homes and kitchens was so much MORE. Often much simpler, yet more present.

One thing I learnt from my Ladies at the workshop was focus and care add a huge dimension to even the humblest ingredients. Love brings out the flavours and nutrition of the simplest ingredients.

Our local food co-op put out a call for recipes for the calendar- I thought I would offer a Dal recipe and it became a minefield of options. 

This is what I sent in, I could have written a whole tomb of recipes I have used and Dal I have tasted and mean to cook one day.

Country Feast – Dal

• Title- Dal
• preparation time- 15 mins to throw it in the pot.
• cooking time- depends on the legume used. Green Lentils- 45 mins, chickpeas a few hours.
• things you love about it In India dal is the most common dish served.

Nutritious, economical and so tasty. It is 1 dish with a million faces- any dried legume can be used and the spices vary greatly from region to region, household to household.

 This is a basic recipe with variations mentioned, but only the start to discovering a new Dal recipe for every night of the month if you choose.

Ingredient list with amounts 

1T oil
1t cumin seed
1 t black mustard seed
1 t turmeric
½- 1 or none kashmiri chilli powder
2 t coriander powder
2 cloves garlic
2cm ginger
1 or 2 or none green chilli
I cup green lentils or channa dal or toor dal or red lentils
Salt to taste
-water

• method/instructions

 -sizzle cumin, mustard seed in oil until it makes popping sound

- pound garlic, ginger and green chilli to a paste or chop finely

- throw into oil, stir like crazy so does not catch until smell hits you

- add dry spices and KEEP stirring

- add lentils and toast briefly

- add a few T water, stir getting anything stuck on the bottom up

- add 2 cups water

-Bring to boil and turn down- simmer until cooked

-Dal in India is often very moist, I like it thicker so I leave the lid off, watching it until I get it as thick as I like.

-season with salt at the end

 This is a very basic dal

There are a million options to twist and change it.

1. add 2 cloves, 1 cm cinnamon stick
2. 1 t nigella seed with the cumin and mustard
3. 1 t fengreek seed with cumin and mustard
4. Or all of the above
5. 2 chopped tomatoes when adding water
6. Sizzle a chopped onion with the popped seeds before adding other ingredients
7. Handful of chopped spinach or mustard greens towards the end of cooking
8. Go south Indian- sizzle some coconut and curry leaves in with the powders- add coconut milk to cooking liquid- especially good with red lentils
9. Separate to the dal in a small pan sizzle 2 T oil or ghee with 3 to 6 peeled and roughly chopped garlic cloves &/or sliced fresh chilli until the garlic is golden nuggets and carefully poor over finished dal before serving. This is called a Tadka and adds a lot of flavour. Whole coriander seeds are wonderful sizzled too.
10. Liberally strew chopped coriander leaf over finished dal, finish with a squeeze of lemon juice.
11. Use same spices but add cooked chickpeas, chopped tomatoes and coconut milk
12. Use red kidney beans and go Punjabi, finishing with cream or ghee and coriander leaf

See the dal on the right. That is a TADKA- some coriander seeds and a dried red chilli have been sizzled in a little oil and dropped on top just before serving. It is magic, it makes all the flavours pop.

On our Rajasthan Tour, we always have people to our house, there is a cooking class and Gypsy Dancers for entertainment. Indian food is easy to cook, just the long list of ingredients make it look complicated- I think sharing the cooking experience helps de-mystify it.

Plus people get to see in an Indian house and hang out in a village. 😘

I have been home for 6 weeks now, and have a few more months here. Wonderful, I get to garden but kind of weird as well I am used to wandering.

If I were in India- there would be somewhere needing to be visited, the weavers, the indigo guy.... endless lists really.

The more peaceful pace here is great, yet I am perhaps, a little twitchy. 

So I am polishing off the old cook-around-the-world skills, Travel via Tummy- working on a few new recipes from various places.... 

I got all Vietnam centred this morning, I am working on a jacket using old pieces of fabrics I have collected and some stitch I have done to pick up motifs.... it got me thinking of the village we are staying in next March to do the same type of things .... and then how great the food is in that village.... 

yep just a stomach on legs.

All this bled into more planning....I had meant to prevail upon a friend in Morocco to let us cook with her.... it will add another dimension to our visit with her and be fun, reminded me to add this to our tour.

I am waiting on my tomatoes to take off to try my hand at Uzbek flavours- everyone obsesses over Plov or Osh - a rice and meat dish and it is delicious but what set it off was the amazing salads that go on the side. Uzbek obsession with flavoursome old fashioned tomatoes reminded me just how good they can be.

This is the tray of sides, you choose what you would like. Pickled garlic, a fruity grape vinegar, tomatoes whole or sliced into a salad. Yoghurt with fresh herbs mixed through, sour cream and herbs, lightly fermented vegetables.

 All yum

Happy cooking, travel the world from your kitchen.

It is the love and care we put into any meal that makes it taste better. 

Share the LOVE.