An Indian Inspired Meal

Although today is our anniversary, we only first picked up the goose for the confit yesterday-so our celebratory dinner will have to be on the weekend as the goose still needs to be boned, salted and weighted in the fridge for a couple days before I can even begin the real work of it. I admit, the project is a bit ambitious for my energy level at the moment, but once I purchased the goose, there was not really a good way to back out of the commitment. Slow and steady, I’m sure it will go ok.

This evening I prepared an Indian style dinner with a bread that was supposed to be Naan, but instead turned into some sort of ghee based scone. It was very, very strange, though L. really insists that he likes it and will not permit me to discard the leftover. I also made Samosas which I ended up preparing the dough with half plain yoghurt and half crème fraiche as I ran out of yoghurt. Guess what? It was fantastic. The main courses were yellow dal cooked with onions, garlic, olive oil and spices. Also on the menu were small red potatoes cooked with onions, oil, peas and spices. I’ll provide the recipes as I made them, mistakes and all, though I really wouldn’t encourage anyone to try the naan as I prepared it. Thinking about it, I probably used the melted butter a bit too warm and it curdled the yoghurt slightly changing the texture. It was very, very cake-y. Still, I suppose if you’re not expecting it to be naan, and just want an unusual bread that defies description, perhaps it is worth trying after all.

Naan:

2 cups all purpose flour
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon sugar
½ cup milk
2 tablespoons ghee or clarified butter
½ cup plain yoghurt
1 egg
1 teaspoon baking soda
1 teaspoon baking powder
ghee for brushing the tops.

Mix flour and salt. Add everything else (except the extra ghee for brushing) and mix well. Cover with a damp towel and let rise about 4-5 hours. The dough will be very sticky, so toss a baking sheet with cornmeal or semolina to facilitate easier removal. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Spread the naan dough out into two long rectangles. Brush tops with extra ghee and bake about ten-fifteen minutes or until golden brown. Cool on racks.

Yellow Dal

1 lb. yellow split dal well rinsed and soaked overnight
¼ cup olive oil
1 large onion
3 cloves garlic, crushed
1/8 teaspoon turmeric
½ cup finely chopped flat parsley
¼ teaspoon cumin
black pepper
salt
1 teaspoon coriander (ground)
pinch of cinnamon
Fenugreek (optional)
Pinch of cayenne
water

Cook the dal by placing them in a large pot covered with water. Bring to a boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook 5-6 hours until soft and falling apart. Drain and refrigerate until ready to use.

In a large frying pan, sauté the garlic and onion over low heat until soft. Add the spices and the dal and cook over low heat, periodically adding water to thin it. You will likely need about ½ a cup total, depending upon how long you let it cook and how much evaporation/reduction takes place. It is largely a matter of taste. I served mine over jasmine rice, and therefore wanted a bit more soupy texture. Served alone with flatbread, you may prefer a thicker texture.

Potatoes

I followed essentially the same spices as above, though I omitted the parsley, cayenne and cinnamon. I added freshly cooked peas as well. I par-boiled small red potatoes for about five minutes and gave them a cool water rinse before slicing them and placing them into the oil and spices. Cook until quite soft over low heat (olive oil will burn if you try to fry with it). Be patient, in about half an hour, the potatoes will develop a lovely brown crust.

My recipe for Samosas may be found HERE in the archives.