Ahhh, January. Yesterday, with constant rain just above the freezing point, two kids who are still clocking West Coast time, and no babysitter now that our part time sitter has found full-time work, it was the perfect day to put on the dhal.
For the first year and a half of her life, my daughter would eat almost anything, but what she preferred was Indian food. She would eat it pretty spicy, too, and it amused us to no end when she wanted curries every day and would grunt with pleasure when she tasted them. The Indian babysitters that worked in our building would waggle their heads when they saw this and waggle even harder when I mentioned that her name was Mira, after their beloved poet Mira Bhai.
The truth of the matter is, too, that neither my daughter nor I have met a rice and bean that we didn’t like, and so dhal was a simple, healthful thing that I made with some frequency for her from the time she was about 7 months old.
Enter my son, a great eater… but not so much into the spicy things like his sis. Add the fact that Mira, a few months before her brother was born, stopped eating all but about 5 things, including-but certainly not limited to-the lovely curries.
So, here’s a pleasing recipe that I altered from a Maya Kaimal recipe. The original recipe is in her truly yummy and perfectly spicy Savoring the Spice Coast of India: Fresh Flavors from Kerala. I altered the masala, a lot of proportions, and made some kid-friendly choices in their stead. The result is a very very mild dhal that will, most likely, be a hit served over plenty of basmati or brown rice and your mini-chef’s favorite steamed veggies or a small piece of meat. It can even be pureed and fed to babies since it is quite mushy anyway. To please Big People palates or more adventuresome mini-palates, heat up a bit of oil or butter (or, even better, ghee!) over a low flame and throw in some dried red chilies. Let the chilis infuse the oil with their heat, and let anyone with the inclination, spoon it on top of their dhal.
Simple Dhal, Not Too Spicy
*2-3 t. fresh ginger, peeled and minced or grated
*2 medium cloves of garlic, minced
*3 large shallots, finely chopped
*1 c. red lentils
*2 1/4 c. water
*2 T. vegetable oil, such as canola or grape seed oil
*1/2 t. mustard seeds
*3/4 t. cumin
*1/4 t. turmeric
*1 t. salt
*juice from 1/2 a lemon (preferably a Meyer lemon)
Big Person: Prepare and the first three ingredients before you begin cooking with your mini-chef so that everything will be ready to go.
Together: Place the lentils in a large bowl. Cover the lentils with cold water, and let your mini-chef swirl the water around with their hands. The water, with this first water, will be very cloudy. Big Person will dump out the cloudy water, and again cover the lentils with fresh water. Your mini-chef will swirl. Dump. Cover. Swirl. Repeat until the water is no longer cloudy when you swirl. Strain the lentils as best you can. Now, put those into a medium saucepan with the 2 1/4 cups of water.
Big Person: Cooking over high heat, bring the lentils to a boil and let boil for about a minute. Then, turn the heat down to very low, cover partially, and let cook till a bit mushy, about 30 minutes.
Together: Once you’ve got the lentils cooking over low heat, you can measure out the various spices you’ll be using. First, in a very small bowl, measure the 1/2 t. of mustard seeds. Then in another small bowl, measure out the ground spices: the turmeric and the cumin and give them a little stir.
Before you slice your lemon in two, you can practice rolling the lemon back and forth with your hand and pressing on it so that the juice will more easily be released. It’s a lot of fun for a mini-chef, so have them do it for as long as they’re interested and then Big Person will slice the lemon. Juice one half of it and save the other half for another project.
Big Person: When the lentils have finished cooking, take them off of the heat and set them aside.
In a frying pan, heat up your oil over med-high heat. Throw in the mustard seeds and stand back. If you have a splatter guard, this is the time to break it out. You will hear the seeds popping for a while and then the popping will cease. That’s when you know it’s time to add the shallots into the pan. Stirring constantly, saute the shallots till they’re medium brown, and then add in the spice mixture. Cook, still stirring, another minute. Add in the garlic and the ginger, turn the heat off, and let cook (yes, still stirring) another minute. Take the pan off the heat, and immediately stir this mixture into the cooked lentils.
Add the salt and another 1/2 c. of water and let the dhal simmer for another 10-15 minutes, till it hasn’t dried out but isn’t watery either. At the last, stir in the lemon juice, to brighten the flavor.
09/01/2009 at 12:31 pm Permalink
Hmmm.. sounds so yummy. I'm going to try this out on my littlest one (14 mo.). She seems to have a flair for the rice & beans too! And I can see her older sister's nose wrinkling up already.
10/01/2009 at 6:41 am Permalink
so great! I love the suggestions about specific things to lure the lil’ ones into “helping.” rolling the lemon and swirling the lentils! i’ll remember that! I love red lentils–they cook so quickly and are so yummy!
we ate indian food for dinner tonight, too! we were hungry tonight so only the big people cooked while Meredith made baguettes, rolls, and other treats out of clay for her paper dolls.
we made a spicy cauliflower-potato-pea dish (all Alaskan! cauliflower and peas from the freezer). ok, well the ginger and chiles weren’t Alaskan, but who’s counting? I never claimed to be on the 100-Mile Diet. Anyway, I’ll try and post it tomorrow!
10/01/2009 at 1:18 pm Permalink
My 2.75-year-old son hardly eats anything. But curry? He devours it, especially if it’s in an authentic Indian restaurant. He can handle the heat even better than I can. He calls it “nice curry” and “nice rice.” This sounds like a lovely version of dhal!
10/01/2009 at 1:26 pm Permalink
Forgot to mention that I made kima tonight and actually got some protein into the little guy! Yea! Curry saves the day.
11/01/2009 at 12:42 pm Permalink
I have been looking for a good Dahl recipe since last easter – thank you!
12/01/2009 at 4:21 pm Permalink
Sounds very good – something my daughter would love. She likes flavorful but not too spicy.
p.s. sent you a message on foodbuzz.
12/01/2009 at 8:40 pm Permalink
The same thing happened with my son, he would eat anything. Sushi…yummy, ginger…even better, curry..hooray! And the child was a legume freak! Now, it is cheese, milk, peanut butter, pasta with a frozen pea (don’t ask) and carrot here and there?? I assume he will get back to his old self one day. (Until then, I just eat his portion of curry!!)
17/01/2009 at 4:29 am Permalink
Sounds nice and simple. I picked up a pack of lentils and have yet to actually use them because the recipes for dal I’ve seen to date have been too complicated. Thanks!
09/02/2009 at 6:36 pm Permalink
Cate – made your dhal last night and up until I took the first taste, I was pretty certain that there was no way it could be yummy. Boy, was I wrong! It’s DELICIOUS! Even with only adults in the house, this recipe is still a hit. Thank you! xxx