yellow dal

I mentioned homemade chicken stock yesterday--I decided to make yellow dal with it. I found this recipe in the foodday section of the newspaper while browsing through the recipes. It also happens that I bought yellow split beans at an Asian grocery store this weekend.

I have absolutely no experience with Indian cooking so I didn't know what to expect. The recipe was really easy to make, though, and tasted pretty good. Unfortunately, I forgot to add salt when cooking but it's a fairly easily remedied mistake. Here's my lunch, served over brown rice--



Yellow Dal

the peas:
1 C yellow split peas
1/2 bay leaf
1/4 tsp tumeric
3 cups chicken stock (obviously not vegetarian, but I don't mind)
Salt

1. Rinse the peas extremely well with running water in a sieve. Water should run clear. Add the peas to a pot with the other ingredients. Bring to a boil, stirring occasionally, then reduce to a simmer for 20-30 minutes until tender. Season with salt.

the tadka:
1/4 C vegetable oil (or ghee)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 C thinly sliced onion
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper flakes

1. In a pan, heat the oil over medium high to high heat. Add cumin seeds and fry for 10 seconds, then add the onion. Cook the onion over medium heat for 12 minutes until golden brown. Add in the crushed red pepper flakes and cook for another 2 minutes or so.
2. Serve the tadka over the top of the dal.
   

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Semolina-Citrus Turbinados

The best way to spend a Sunday? In the kitchen of course! A friend and I made these wonderful cupcakes, along with citrus turbinado sugar cookies and chicken stock of all things. Sadly I don't have the recipe for the cupcakes myself. But the general idea is steeping the milk in earl grey tea. We whipped up a quick lemon cream cheese frosting to finish.


I recently spotted a natural sweetener cookbook--Sweet!--at the library on the new arrivals wall and instantly grabbed it. The gorgeous cover photograph really sealed the deal. When I did take a look inside, I had to buy it. The Semolina-Citrus Turbinados are the second recipe I've tried from it and I haven't been disappointed.

Semolina-Citrus Turbinados from Sweet!

1 C turbinado sugar (Sugar in the Raw brand is everywhere)
zest of 1 orange
1 C flour
3/4 C semolina flour
1/4 tsp baking powder
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 sticks unsalted butter, cold and cubed
2 tbsp lemon juice
1 egg

In a food processor, pulse the sugar and orange zest. Add flours, baking powder, and salt and pulse until blended. Add the cold butter and pulse until you have a bread crumb like texture. In a separate bowl, whisk the egg and lemon juice; add to the food processor, running the machine until the dough forms a ball.

Knead the dough a bit, divide, and form into two 1 1/2" logs. Refrigerate for 2 hours.

Preheat the oven to 350. Slice the dough into 1/4" rounds and place onto a nonstick cookie sheet. Be sure to leave enough room for the cookies to spread a bit. Bake for 12-14 minutes. Keep an eye on them because the sugar may burn quickly. Transfer to a rack to cool. After cooling, spread icing on top of cookies, if desired.

To make the icing:

2 oz cream cheese at room temp
2 tbsp orange juice
1 1/2 C powdered sugar
orange zest, if desired

Whisk the cream cheese and orange juice (and orange zest, if using) until smooth. Add in the powdered sugar and mix well.

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Double Chocolate Espresso Cookies

I can't resist cookies. And these ones are pretty fantastic.

Espresso Cookies

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Bob's Red Mill Sourdough Muffins

Honestly, I bought the Bob's Red Mill Baking Book on a whim at Powell's. Considering it was on sale for half the original price, I'd say it was a pretty good deal. The book is filled with all kinds of recipes using all kinds of grains.

I really like this recipe, especially with a sourdough starter sitting in the fridge. The best part trying different additions, like dried fruit or grated cheese. Just be sure to add it to the dry ingredient blend. I made two variations in one batch--white cheddar and provolone, and a dried blueberry/cranberry combination (the recipe recommends 1 3/4 cups of cheese for one batch, or 1 1/4 cups dried fruit).



Sourdough Muffins
from Bob's Red Mill Baking Book

1 3/4 C whole wheat flour
1 C all purpose flour
1 tsp baking soda
1 tsp salt
1/4 C sugar
1/2 C sourdough starter
1 1/2 cups warm milk
2 eggs, beaten
1/4 C vegetable oil

1. Mix dry ingredients together in a bowl. In a separate bowl, mix together the wet ingredients. Pour the wet ingredients into the dry and stir to moisten (this doesn't need to be well incorporated at all).
2. Cover with a lint-free dish towel and sit out at room temperature for 12 hours.
3. When ready to bake, preheat the oven to 400 and spray a muffin tin. Stir batter to combine, pour into muffin tin, and bake for approximately 20 minutes.
   

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