Tarka Dhall

Lentil based dishes are a staple food in Indian cuisine. I've previously posted about Sambar which is one of my favourite dishes as well as Channa Dhall which is a chunkier Dhall dish.

Lentils are an amazing source of protein and can be a dish all on its own. Tarka, also known as Tadka, is the technique where spices are fried in oil or ghee to bring out the essential oils and flavour from the spices before being poured, together with the oil, into a main component of the dish - in this case the Dhall.

The recipe for this dish, made by The Lovely Wife, comes from 30 Minute Indian by Sunil Vijayakar. This book has yielded many a good recipe and although I scoffed at her when she first bought this book, I have to admit that it has provided some very good recipes and we have all enjoyed her exploits from this book.

This is her take on the recipe.

Ingredients
250g red split lentils
1 litre hot water
4-5 large tomatoes - chopped
2 chillies - chopped
1/2 tsps turmeric powder
2 tsps fresh ground ginger
4 Tbsp fresh coriander - chopped

Tarka
1 Tbsp Vegetable Oil
2 tsp mustard seeds
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic - sliced thinly
1 dried red chilli - cut into pieces
Method
Soak the lentils in boiling water for 10 mins. Drain and put into a large saucepan together with the 1 ltire of hot water. Bring to the boil and spoon off any scum that floats to the top. Reduce heat and allow to simmer for about 20 minutes or till soft and tender.
Drain the lentils and process in a food processor. Return the puree to the pan together with the tomatoes, chillies, turmeric, ginger and coriander. Season with salt and pepper and allow to simmer gently.
Make the tarka by heating the oil in a separate pan. Add in all the ingredients for the tarka and fry until fragrant, stirring constantly. Remove the tarka from heat and add into the Dhall. Stir to combine.

Dhall goes really well with rice and also flatbreads - I've probably said that before but its worth repeating. This Dhall is the sort of dish that you can never seem to get enough off and after one serving of rice, I had another smaller one and then another after that! The Lovely Wife didnt stop me from stuffing my face with this Dhall as after all, it is such a good source of protein and healthy, healthy, healthy!




The only complaint that she had was that I had a little too much fun with my princess where I would call out "Takda" and my princess would reply "Dhall" repeatedly like this...

Takda! ...Dhall
Takda! ...Dhall
Takda, Takda, Takda!... Dhall!

You can understand why The Lovely Wife was irritated. I do wonder how she puts up with me sometimes...

Spicy Pork Patties and 'The Look'

I have to admit that both The Lovely Wife and I both love cookbooks. I'm more partial toward dessert cookbooks while The Lovely Wife likes them any which way. I did put on a sour face and a scowl however, when she insisted on buying this particular book - an Indian Cookbook. I looked at her and gave her The (well perfected) Look. It's the kind of look where I kind of either frown or raise my eyebrows. My face takes on a really dumbfounded cum haughty expression and if you look hard enough, you can see steam coming out of my fairly large nostrils. If you cant picture it, just think of it as a "you really, seriously, must be joking" kind of look.
I mean seriously, why on earth would either of us need an Indian cookbook? I think we both cook Indian food bloody well!

Despite being on the receiving end of 'The Look', The Lovely Wife still bought the book and later that night I thumbed through it and hummed and hawed that there was nothing really special in there that neither of us couldn't do. The Lovely Wife tried to defend herself and said that it was a nice book nonetheless and there WERE some nice recipes in there and it didn't matter if we could already make some or even all of the dishes. There was nothing wrong in getting a fresh take on recipes. In a final attempt at justifying her purchase, she said that at the very least the book had some nice pictures and maybe I could learn a thing or two about taking nice food shots... okay, not said in such a vicious manner but that was kind of the point. I'll remind her of that the next time I get my hands on a Playboy Magazine...



Anyway, one day she decided to follow one of the recipes from the book and made these Spicy Pork Patties. I tell you, they were delicious! They were so delicious that The Lovely Wife decided to make them again when we hosted Naomi for lunch back in August last year. Everyone thought they were delicious too!

The recipe comes from 30-minute Indian by Suni Vijayakar, a book The Lovely Wife found at one of our local bookstores (either MPH or Borders, can't quite remember). This is the recipe

450g minced pork
3 tsps hot curry paste (she used a mix of curry powder and chilli powder instead)
3 Tbs fresh bradcrumbs
1 small onion, finely chopped
2 Tbs lime juice
2 Tbs finely chopped coriander leaves
1 red chilli, finely chopped
2 tsp brown sugar
salt and pepper

Method
Put the pork, curry paste, breadcrumbs, onion, lime juice, coriander, chilli and sugar in a large bowl and, using your hands, mix until thoroughly blended. Season with salt and pepper. cover and chill for 30mins or until ready to cook

Divide the mixture into 12 portions and shape each one into a flat, round patty.

Heat the oil in a large nonstick fryingpan and cook the patties over a medium heat for 3-4 minuts on each side or until cooked through.


These patties make excellent appetisers and are great with drinks too! The Lovely Wife usually bakes these instead of frying them and they are equally delicious that way.

So maybe it's not such a bad idea having an Indian cookbook in our collection after all....