Everyday Red Lentil Dal Recipe

Over Christmas Mom was sick and working her usual erratic, demanding hours managing the Goochland Free Clinic's Dental program leaving Dad and I to fend for ourselves a bit. I saw she still was hoarding red lentil's from a trip to visit me in NYC very early in my tenure and decided to put them to use. Only I didn't have a recipe.

I didn't get creative, but with a bit of my usual internet sleuthing I found this Everyday Red Lentil Dal recipe, which I would probably eat every day given the option. We ate the slightly spicy, warm mixture with Stacy's Pita chips and a salad for dinner. I had it alone the next day for lunch and so on. It's super easy to put together, requires under an hour to prepare and is pretty much impossible to screw up. If you overcook the lentils this time no big deal as they are supposed to be mush anyway.  Delicious, healthy mush that is full of flavor.

I'm stoked that Leslie is making the original recipe with yellow split peas this weekend and some tasty sounding dips. It turns out I had bookmarked the original ages ago at Smitten Kitchen and when I sent Leslie ideas for this weekend's movie-meal plan it was her choice. Can't wait!

Palak Paneer, Two Ways

In college Jim insisted we go for Indian food one night; I wrinkled my nose, protested lightly, and then sucked it up. I had experienced an Indian buffet in Arlington, Virginia toward the end of high school and was not impressed with the cumin and anise seeds I kept encountering. The flavors were too intense. Thank goodness for Jim though! That night I discovered one of my favorite dishes to date Palak Paneer (and Naan, of course).

When my Mom visited this Fall, we made Palak Paneer from scratch, even the paneer. Do you know how long it takes to bring milk to a boil? I was proud of the accomplishment and it tasted good, but I will likely never do it again as savoring the dish in a restaurant with naan makes more sense. Then again I did discover pre-made paneer, unpriced, at Whole Foods. It might be worth checking out...


In the meantime, I will continue to make the version I discovered in college. It requires half the effort and produces similar results. Just be careful not to simmer out too much of the sauciness or you'll end up with the version depicted below - tasty and a little off.


This dish is very rich, pretty healthy because of all the spinach, and best served with rice to tone down the spiciness.