Coconut Dal, Warm & Hearty, A Classic Recipe From One Of The Pioneers Of Indian Cuisine

    I have been going through coconut milk around here like a turkey in the corn, or some such folksy term. In other words I've been using a lot of it. Many of the South Indian dishes I've been whipping up lately feature coconut in one form or another, and I was shocked to notice the other day that coconut milk isn't just some exotica in a can anymore. It's sold fresh and cold in my dairy case the same way my almond milk is. Who knew? It just sort of snuck up on me. One day it wasn't there and the next there it was, boxes and boxes of it. Which is a good thing for me as I always try to keep an ample supply around here.
  This last weekend for my Oscar dinner I decided to make a dal dish that I'd fixed a few days earlier and just loved. It's a dish that I've been making for years, but it's one of those that had fallen out of the mealtime rotation. You know, one of those dishes that everybody loves and you make a lot, and then for some reason newer shinier dishes come along and seduce you with their sexy ways (vada I'm taking about you) and so the old dish sort of falls off the menu for a while. Those are my favorites to revive.  "Yow!", I think to myself, "where have you been all my life and why did I stop cooking you?!! C'mere you sexy toor dal you."  Another great thing about this dal dish, like a lot of the things I like to cook around here, it can be made in about 1 hour.

   This recipe originates with Mrs. K M Matthews .

She was to Indian food what Julia Child was to French. She wrote 17 cookbooks in Malayalam and 4 in English. Mrs. Matthews got people cooking ! The great thing about this dal dish is it's doable, a no brainer and after a hard work day... many times that's about where I am.

Coconut Dal

Here's what to do:
Rinse and drain 1 cup of toor dal..(yellow split peas, don't be scared)
Put it in a heavy pan along with:
  3 and 1/4 cups of water
 1/8 tsp of turmeric
Bring it all to a boil and turn the heat down, put a lid on things (slightly ajar) and let it all simmer for about 45 minutes.
Now, toss in:
 1 Tbs of chopped shallots
 1 tsp of ground cumin

Stir that in and put the lid back on, a bit ajar, for another 15 minutes.
Toss in 3 green chilies slit down the middle and cook for another 10 minutes or so until the dal is nice and tender.

 If it starts to thicken up too much, you can pour in 1/2 cup of boiling water.
 Keep it on a low heat while you prepare the grand finale.

The Grand Finale:
In a small skillet heat 2 Tbs of vegetable oil (I use coconut oil)
When the oil is hot toss in:
 1/2 tsp of brown mustard seeds
When the mustard seeds start to pop add in:
 10 fresh curry leaves (these can be found at most Asian markets)
  2 whole dried red chilies broken into pieces

When the chilies darken add in:
  2 Tbs of chopped shallots

Stir it all around until the shallots darken a bit, then add in 1 medium tomato diced.
Now, since tomatoes are not exactly in season here right now, I used about 1/2 of a can of tomatoes.

Stir it around for a few minutes until the tomatoes are softened, then pour the entire skillet of seasonings and tomatoes into the dal.

Stir it all together, add salt to taste and finally pour in 1 and 1/4 cups of unsweetened coconut milk, fresh or canned.

Warm it a bit, and you're done. This is an amazingly earthy, hearty dish. All you need is this, a vegetable and a bowl of rice and you have an economical, fast and tasty meal. This recipe will serve 6 people and it's even better the next day... that is if there's any left over!
  With recipes like this, it's no wonder Mrs. K M Matthews was such a culinary legend. So if you don't already serve dal at home, this is a great recipe to start with. Dal is not just for dinners out anymore.
  Coming next, the perfect rice dish that's a perfect partner for this dal you can follow me on Twitter @kathygori.This is also an exciting weekend for me, I'll be taking my new waffle iron for a test run (I thrill easily) and experimenting with some gluten free waffles! I hope I don't need the jaws of life to get them out of the iron.  

The Great Spinach Switch. A Fast Easy Lighter Version Of An Old Favorite.

Still getting whipped around by the weather here in Sonoma. We've gone from perfect warm spring weather to hail and rain, to sun lashed by cloudbursts and windy gusts. Last night my little olive tree blew over. Time to replant. This morning it's crisp, windy and cool. More of a March day than teetering on the edge of May.
 Today is a day for spinach! Not creamed spinach but a lighter version, flavored with dill and spiked at the end for an edge. It's called Mysore Spinach or Spinach with Dill and it's fast and easy too. Nothing to kick about there. The only drawback is the need for more spinach because this stuff goes fast and spinach once steamed is notorious for "shrinkage". So depending on how many people you're serving, you may need more than you think.
 I made this dish using one bag of organic baby spinach, about 12 oz. If you're serving more than 4 people you may want to get a bit more.
  Here's how to make this simple, tasty side dish.
  Rinse and chop about 12 oz. of fresh spinach.
Chop 1/2 cup of fresh dill

  Put the spinach and the dill in a large skillet and heat it on low. Put the lid on the skillet and let it steam gently. Shake the pan every now and then until the spinach is wilted and tender, about 10 minutes or so.
When the spinach and dill are cooked, add:
1/2 tsp of salt
1/4 cup of whipping cream.
 Turn up the heat and cook down the spinach and cream. Boil it down and make sure you  keep stirring so nothing burns.
 In a separate pan heat:
1 Tbs unsalted butter
When the butter foams up add in:
1/4 tsp  black mustard seed
When the mustard seeds start to pop add in:
1/8 tsp cumin seed
1 dried red chilli
When the cumin and chilli turn color, take the pan off the heat and pour the mixture into the cooked spinach.
 Stir and serve.

  This is a nice, mild and tasty dish, great with even non-Indian meals. Not as rich as creamed spinach, it's freshness and the addition of dill, makes it a great change up from the usual.
   Spinach