Eli Cooks » garlic

Dal (Indian Lentil Stew)

Eli — Fri, 05 Jun 2009 17:00:44 +0000

Back in culinary school I took an elective in Indian cooking. One of the dishes we made along the way was dal makhani, a stew made of urad dal (also known as Indian black lentils or black gram), kidney beans, ginger, garlic, garam masala, tomato and plenty of butter and cream. (There’s something quite satisfying about being able to unwrap a whole stick of butter and just drop it into a pot of stew.) The recipe was simple, rich and easy to make in bulk. Definitely a keeper.

Starting from that basic recipe, I’ve made variation upon variation over the years until I have more of a guideline than really a recipe at this point. I’ve tried more and less garlic, ginger and spices. Final preference: a lot of garlic, a good bit of ginger and just a bit of garam masala. I’ve tried tomato paste, tomato sauce, pureed canned tomatoes and no tomato at all. I think I have a slight preference for tomato paste, but any of them work, just remember to use more sauce or pureed tomatoes than paste, and you might need to adjust the amount of water a bit too.

And I’ve tried different beans and lentils. The urad dal and kidney beans from the original recipe need to be soaked overnight before it’s cooked, but most other kinds of lentils don’t require a soak. My first preference is to use several kinds of lentils together to provide a range of textures. I like a mix of red masoor dal (which disintegrate almost completely), normal brown lentils and urad dal. I usually leave out the kidney beans these days, just because it’s great without them and it’s one less ingredient to keep around. And as often as not, I make dal with just normal brown lentils, because I always have them around and they don’t require a soak (meaning no planning ahead.) If you experiment with different kinds of lentils, you may need more or less water and more or less cooking time. Just check how they’re doing periodically and adjust. This recipe isn’t at all fussy.

Quick Dal
This might not be the most authentic dal in the world, but it’s quite good and quick enough for a weeknight dinner. It also scales up beautifully to feed a crowd.
Dal is just as good (if not better) the second day, so be sure to make more than you plan to eat.

Serves 4-6

1 Tbsp butter
6 cloves garlic, minced
about 1″ fresh ginger, minced
1 tsp garam masala or a mix of your favorite spices (optional)
1 1/2 cups brown lentils, rinsed and drained
3 1/2 cups water
1 tsp – 1 Tbsp salt (depending on your tastes)
1 tsp cayenne (optional)
1/2 stick butter (4 Tbsp)
3 oz tomato paste (half a small can)
1/4 cup half and half or cream

In a medium pan, melt the butter, then cook the garlic and ginger over medium heat for 1-2 minutes. Add the garam masala and cook an additional minute or so. Add the lentils, water and salt. Bring to a boil, then turn down to a simmer. Cook, covered, until tender, but still with a bit of tooth to them, about 35 minutes. If the water runs low, add a bit more.

Stir in the cayenne, butter and tomato paste. Bring back to a simmer and cook, covered, 10 minutes more.

Turn off the heat and stir in the half and half. Taste and add more salt or cayenne as desired.

Serve the dal over rice or with naan or roti.

Winter Squash with Sage Roasted Garlic Brown Butter

Eli — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 03:32:11 +0000

A few days ago, I had hands down the best winter squash I’ve ever had the pleasure to eat. I don’t have such hubris as to talk about my own cooking that way (although my preparation was pretty damn good.) Just the squash itself was amazing. Eating the steamed squash plain with nothing added was phenomenal…rich, earthy and sweet in much the same way as all winter squash, but somehow moreso. Have you ever tried to cook or eat a carving pumpkin? They taste like someone took the flavor of an acorn or butternut and cut it in half. This tasted like someone took the flavor of an acorn or butternut and doubled it.

The thing is, I don’t know if I’ve found my new favorite squash or if this one squash was just an exemplary specimen. It was a carnival squash that came from my CSA box and I’ve never had carnival squash before. I guess the only thing to do is find another carnival squash and see how it tastes, but I’m a bit hesitant. This one was great, even if it is just the one and not the whole cultivar. But it will still be rather a letdown if the next carnival squash isn’t any better than any other winter squash. Don’t get me wrong, I love winter squash…I look forward to fall every year, just so I can cook a bunch of winter squash again. But this one was just so good.

I’ve made winter squash this way before, and it’s great: sublimely simple in effort and flavor. The rich saltiness of the brown butter really complements the sweet squash and the sage and roasted garlic add just the right counterpoints. But it was really dumb luck that I made such a simple preparation for a squash that needed so little to shine. It was definitely a serendipitous meal, and one I won’t forget for a long while.

Winter Squash with Sage Roasted Garlic Brown Butter

I use salted butter for the brown butter. Depending on how salty your butter is, the brown butter might taste a bit overly salty on its own, but remember that it’s also salting the squash.

Tossing the sage in the butter while it’s still screaming hot basically fries the sage in the butter, dispersing the sage flavor through the butter and crisping the sage all at once.

This pairs wonderfully with simply sauteed pork chops for a full meal. Spoon the brown butter over the pork chops as well.

1 medium to large winter squash
6-7 large leaves sage, chopped
4 cloves roasted garlic, chopped *recipe below
4 Tbsp salted butter

Poke the squash several times with a knife. Be sure the knife reaches all the way in to the center cavity. Microwave the squash whole for 10-20 minutes, depending on the size of the squash and the power of your microwave, until the squash is soft all over. Cut the squash in half. Scoop out the seeds and discard. Scoop the flesh out of the skin and mash the flesh.

Heat the butter over medium heat in a small saucepan until the butter foams up and the foam subsides. Remove the butter from the heat and immediately stir in the sage and garlic.

Serve the squash hot with the brown butter on the side.

*Roasted Garlic: Put a whole, unpeeled head of garlic in the oven at 250 F for about 2 hours.

Carrots with Garlic and Ginger

Eli — Wed, 03 Sep 2008 18:23:43 +0000

One of the things I’ve really enjoyed about subscribing to the CSA this year is that I get a box of random produce every other week. It makes dinner every night a bit like mystery box cooking…open the fridge and see what’s there to work with. There are also things I haven’t enjoyed about having the CSA, mainly that I haven’t made it to the farmers market much this year because I don’t want to go get more produce when I already have a fridge full at home. I’m trying to figure out how to balance the two so I can continue getting my myster box (and supporting the farmers) without losing those trips to the farmers market. So far my main idea is just to cook more at home…but that has its own problems.

One night last week that mystery box led me to this recipe. I had a few pounds of carrots in the box that really needed to be used. Noone in my family is fond of the common overcooked, too sweet glazed carrots, so that was right out. We had too many carrots to assume we’d just eat them as carrot sticks; too many to just toss a few into a stir fry with other veggies. I needed something to feature carrots. I landed on a simple saute of carrots with a ton of garlic and ginger, and it turned out beautifully. I honestly don’t remember what main dish we had with the carrots…they definitely stole the show.

Carrots with Garlic and Ginger

Getting a good amount of caramelization on the carrots is key here. Carrots have a very high sugar content; cooking them over high heat allows that sugar to caramelize before the carrots are overcooked. The garlic and ginger balance the sweetness of the caramelized carrots.

1 1/2 lb carrots, cut into discs
1/2″ ginger, minced
2 large cloves garlic, minced
2 Tbsp olive oil
salt

Heat the olive oil over high heat. Add the garlic and ginger and cook about 2 minutes until just starting to brown. Add the carrots and continue cooking over high heat until nicely browned and tender, stirring occasionally. (About 10 minutes.)

French Lentils

Eli — Tue, 02 Sep 2008 02:33:16 +0000

These lentils are one of my standbys. They’re good cold in the summer, hot in the winter or room temperature any time. I usually make a big batch of these along with something else for dinner, then eat the leftovers for lunch for the rest of the week. They go wonderfully with a salad for a light summer dinner or as a side dish for a heavier winter dinner. In short, they’re great no matter how you eat them. And when they’re cheap and easy on top of that…

French Lentils
Adapted from James Peterson’s Vegetables
These lentils are incredibly versatile. They’re good hot or cold (but I like them best just a bit warmer than room temperature.) They make a light meal on their own, a main course for a vegetarian meal or a side dish for meat or fish.

2 Tbsp olive oil
1 head garlic, minced
1 lb lentils
3 1/2 cups cold water
2 bay leaves
salt and pepper
1/4 cup chopped parsley
3 Tbsp balsamic vinegar
3 Tbsp olive oil

Heat the olive oil in a medium pot and saute the garlic for a few minutes. Add the lentils, water, bay leaves and some salt. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer for about 30 minutes, until the lentils are tender. The water should be gone about the same time the lentils are done. You might need to either add more water or drain out a bit at the end.

Once the lentils are cooked, mix in the parsley, balsamic and olive oil with a bit more salt and pepper. Be sure to mix these in while the lentils are still very hot, so they’ll soak up the flavors better.