Khyber Dreams: Pakistani Cuisine by Special Request

Your talent is God's gift to you. What you do with it is your gift back to God. - Anonymous

I have been doing a lot of thinking lately (!) about why I love blogging so much. There are actually a lot of reasons, and they are a topic for another post, but a major one is that I've finally discovered a way to chronicle a few of those recipes that Farida regularly asks for. Now I can tell her, "just go look at my blog." And when the blog migrates, a bit later this year, to WordPress, I will have a category specifically for them. Below is one of those dishes that Farida has requested time and again. If you give it a try, let me know how you like it.

For those who might be willing to go to a little trouble and willing to explore some Pakistani cuisine, below is a recipe for Channa Dal (or Dhal). Although this is a dish served as "everyday" food in Pakistani and Indian homes, to me it is quite a delicacy.

Here's a Wikipedia description of dal (or dhal):  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dal

Generally all commonly-used types of dal can be purchased at Indian grocery stores. You may occasionally find pink and yellow lentils at supermarkets, as well. The garlic and ginger pastes and the garam masala spice mix are available there also.

This recipe comes from my memory, so it may not be "purist." You can find a number of other versions of this dish at these sites. None of these are quite the way I remember the dish being prepared, but all look very delectable:

http://www.recipesource.com/ethnic/asia/indian/01/rec0116.html - this one looks very close to my recipe

http://www.mendosa.com/chanadal.html

http://www.indianfoodforever.com/daal/chana-dal.html 

http://www.newkerala.com/recipes/Indian-Recipes/Dal-Recipes/Channa-Dal-Recipe.html

CHANNA DHAL

(You could substitute other pink, red or yellow lentils for the channa dhal, as well)

 1 cup channa dal (yellow lentils)

4 cups water
1 tsp garlic paste
1 tsp ginger paste
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp salt
1 tsp garam masala

Optional:
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 small onion, thinly sliced
2 tbsp cooking oil


Put the lentils in the water and let soak for several hours. Go through the lentils and pick out any discolored ones or any stones or other foreign matter. Drain the lentils and rinse.

Put the rinsed dal in a large saucepan and cover again with four or more cups water. Bring to a boil; skim off the foam that arises. Add the garlic, ginger and turmeric. Turn the heat down and simmer until tender, watching carefully that the water doesn't boil away. Add additional water as necessary throughout the cooking process.

When the lentils are tender, stir in the salt and garam masala and cook for a few minutes longer to blend the flavors. Taste and add more salt and spice if necessary.

If you wish, put the soup into a blender and blend it into a puree (as coarse or as smooth as you prefer).

If you wish, pour the two tablespoons of cooking oil into a small, heavy saucepan. Heat until very hot. Add cumin seeds and onions. Cook, stirring constantly, until cumin seeds are blackened and onions are browned and turning crisp. Add this mixture to the top of the dal when ready to serve.

Note:  I was going to do a "Pioneerwoman" with this dish and illustrate each step with a photograph . . . until I discovered that my channa dal had somehow been invaded by some sort of little bugs--and that was less than appetizing!

Do YOU have a special recipe (ethnic or not) that you'd like to share?