dinner thursday 13th may 2010

Dinner for three

Sautéed green beans and potatoes flavoured with cumin seeds (jeera)

Masoor dal with tomatoes

fried sea bass, Assamese style

chicken cooked with yoghurt and spices

rice

mango pickle

Simple pleasures. Younger daughter, GG's favourite daal. She refuses to eat anything else when this daal is on the menu. I love green beans - Spanish / Mediterranean touch coming in with the olive oil and a garlic and chilli mix from Sardinia! Our hairdresser, Helen, has been spoiling us with a lovely garlic and red chilli flake mix with parsley and salt that she found in Sardinia a few years ago. Every time she goes to Sardinia, she brings back this fantastic mix for her family and some of her friends. My sister-in-laws are also after this mix - sorry sis-in-laws, you know you can taste this when you visit us as this mix is rarer than gold and I cannot share what little I have. Lately Helen has had some difficulty in finding stockists of this mix but she has found an alternative company - but it is not the same. Hope that she finds the old company again on her next trip in a few weeks time.

Recipe for sautéed green beans and potatoes flavoured with panch phoran

Ingredients

200 grams fresh green beans, cut into 2 cm lengths

1 potato, peeled and diced into 1 cm cubes

1 onion, roughly chopped

1 tsp garlic and red chilli flakes mix (use equal quantities of garlic flakes to chilli flakes and dried parsley)

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

1 teaspoon cumin seeds (jeera)

2 tbsp mild olive oil

salt to taste

Method :

• In a sauté pan, heat the oil and add the cumin seeds. Stir them around for just a few seconds only so that the seeds release their aroma and flavour the oil.
• Lower the heat to medium. Add the onions and fry them stirring frequently until they turn a golden colour - five to ten minutes depending on the heat.
• Add the turmeric and the garlic and chilli flakes mixture and stir it around for a few seconds only. Do not let the turmeric burn.
• Add the potatoes and stir fry it for a few minutes until they are cooked slightly and coated with the oil and spice mix - you will see that the edges of the potatoes turn slightly 'transparent'.
• Add the green beans and stir it around in the pan for a minute or two. Add salt to taste.
• Cover the pan and cook on a gentle heat until the beans and potatoes are cooked. Stir every few minutes. The green beans should have a slight 'bite' and the potatoes well done.
• Remove from heat and transfer to a serving dish.

Masoor daal (red lentils) with tinned tomatoes

This lentil dish can be made with either fresh tomatoes or tinned tomatoes. In England, most of the year the tomatoes are not as flavoursome as the ones in Spanish or French markets, even the vine ripened ones. Tinned tomatoes make a pleasant change and they are always in stock at home. The spice mix, panch phoran, used in this dish is available at most Indian / Pakistani / Bangladeshi grocers and a small packet will last a while without the worry of the spices losing their flavour as the spices are whole. The spices have to be tempered in hot oil - this allows the spices to release their oils and flavour the whole dish.

Now there is a very quick way of cooking this dish - all in one go! I tend to temper the oil first and add all the other ingredients and pressure cook it. Others tend to cook the daal first and then temper it afterwards. Is there a right way? Much heated debate ensues in our house about whether the daal should be tempered before it is cooked but I find little difference in taste cooked either way. Will give both methods - my way and husband, NG's way. Ingredients remain the same. Mine first!!

Ingredients :

1 cup masoor dal, (red lentils) washed and left to dry for a few minutes in a sieve

1 tin / can (approx 400 grams) of chopped plum tomatoes (Napolina or Valfrutta)

1 tbsp sunflower oil (or vegetable oil)

1 tsp panch phoran (five spice mix)

1 tsp turmeric

salt to taste

2 - 3 cups water

handful of chopped coriander - optional

lump of butter or home made ghee - optional

Method 1 : My way !!!!

• In a pressure cooker, heat the oil till nearly smoking, remove from heat and throw in the panch phoran and let it sizzle and crackle for a few seconds. This is the secret of flavouring. The mustard seeds release their flavour in the hot oil and lose their pungency to nuttiness. The mustard seeds (the few that are there!) will jump around so beware.
• Return the pan to the heat. Add the washed daal and turmeric and stir it around for a minute or two so that the grains get coated with the oil and the turmeric.
• Add the chopped tinned tomatoes and 2 cups of water. Stir. Cover with the lid and cook under pressure for a few minutes only - difficult to give a time as different pressure cookers take different times and only you know your cooker best. We like our daal to be totally 'dissolved' so that the grains melt and are not recognisable individually. And no use of blender either. No two tier daal for us!!
• Once the pressure has been released, check the daal and the consistency. Add more water if the daal is too thick. The texture should be like that of double cream or a soup - not a broth.
• Add salt to taste, bring it the boil once more and then remove to a serving dish.
• Add coriander and / or the butter or ghee and serve.

This way, there is only one pan to wash up! Brrr perfect for winter.

Method 2 : Husband NG's way

• In a pressure cooker, add the daal, two cups of water and turmeric and cook under pressure until the daal is cooked to your liking. We like it mushy! not upstairs, downstairs daal. Let the pressure drop and remove the lid.
• In a separate pan, heat the oil till nearly smoking, remove from heat and throw in the panch phoran and let it sizzle and crackle for a few seconds. This is the secret of flavouring. The mustard seeds release their flavour in the hot oil and lose their pungency to nuttiness. The mustard seeds (the few that are there!) will jump around so beware.
• Return the pan to the heat and add the chopped tomatoes and stir it around for a few seconds.
• Add the daal from the pressure cooker and bring it to a boil. Check the texture of the daal - it should not be so thick that you can stand a spoon in it or too watery to be able to swim in.
• Add salt to taste. SImmer for a few minutes.
• Remove from heat.
• Add the coriander and / or butter or ghee. Transfer to a serving dish and serve.

Two pans to wash up and a lid as well!!

Variation : temper with curry patta as well.

No chillies? Nope. Children have had this dish since they were babies and I do not like this with chilli anyway. Add chillies if you must, either when tempering or when the dish is ready to be served - whole dried red chillies or chilli powder or chilli flakes or whole green chillies or chopped green chillies - whatever takes your fancy. I remember taking this dish to work and sharing the food with a few colleagues. Shafqat, a colleague from Pakistan / Uganda loved it but asked - Can I add some chillies to it? as it was not 'spicy' enough for her. Of course you can.

Just pure heaven in this daal as GG says.