I have been trying hard to get out of the meal rut we have been stuck in. Here is a recent meal I prepared, an old forgotten favorite, learned from my Asian Indian mother-in-law from my first marriage. The kids still love their "dadi's" (grandmother in hindi) sambar the best though.
I made a lovely sambar - an Indian recipe with lentils, vegetables and spices. The only difficult part is washing and chopping all the vegetables.
I have learned from my mother-in law and various Asian Indian friends over the years how important timing is to making proper Indian spiced dishes. In the old days, I would simply dump everything in all at once. Ahh, but that is not the way with Indian cooking.
First I heated the oil, then added spices slowly. The mustard seeds and cumin seeds were first, which only took several seconds before they started "popping" in the hot oil. After that, I added the curry leaves, coriander, red chili powder and tumeric, which was quickly followed by the chopped vegetables.
I had cooked the lentils the day before.
I added fresh water to the lentils, and when they were heated I added the vegetables. Then came the tamarind sauce and salt to taste.
In the meantime, I heated a large pot with a small amount of water to steam the idlis. This is my idli steamer:
I used my idli mix and let this sit for ten minutes.
The finished idlis were tender and ready to soak up the delicious sambar.
What's cooking in your kitchen these days?
I made a lovely sambar - an Indian recipe with lentils, vegetables and spices. The only difficult part is washing and chopping all the vegetables.
I have learned from my mother-in law and various Asian Indian friends over the years how important timing is to making proper Indian spiced dishes. In the old days, I would simply dump everything in all at once. Ahh, but that is not the way with Indian cooking.
First I heated the oil, then added spices slowly. The mustard seeds and cumin seeds were first, which only took several seconds before they started "popping" in the hot oil. After that, I added the curry leaves, coriander, red chili powder and tumeric, which was quickly followed by the chopped vegetables.
I had cooked the lentils the day before.
I added fresh water to the lentils, and when they were heated I added the vegetables. Then came the tamarind sauce and salt to taste.
In the meantime, I heated a large pot with a small amount of water to steam the idlis. This is my idli steamer:
I used my idli mix and let this sit for ten minutes.
The finished idlis were tender and ready to soak up the delicious sambar.
What's cooking in your kitchen these days?
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