image: indianfoodforever.com

Lentils are one of the dishes that are hardest for me to cook. Well, beans in general, even though they’re so cheap and sooo good for you. I always hear that I should make from my vegetarian relatives who can cook and who have lots of time on their hands… basically, the opposite of me.

I’ll tell you a little disaster story that I had with beans a few years ago, which mas made me think twice about cooking any sort of legume. I got some random beans from the shop because I was going to make … something… and I boiled them for a while, till they seemed done. Then, I drained them, added some spices and ate them. They were OK I guess.

Then, my sister came into the room and said: “Oh, you made beans! Funny I didn’t see you soak them overnight!” I stopped in mid-bite and looked at her dumbfounded. I said, “Well, I didn’t.” She laughed at me and said, “Naimah! You aren’t going to feel very well tomorrow!” And boy, was she right…

I’m interested in cooking lentils because I want to eat less meat, and I keep hearing from vegetarians far and wide how great they are. So here goes, I’m going to learn to cook them. Dal Shorva is the easiest lentil dish I could find. It sounds tasty (I like cilantro, tumeric and ginger), and you don’t have to soak anything. Hopefully it will work, so… here goes… something.

Dal Shorva

Ingredients:

• 1-1/2 cups red lentils
• 4 cups chicken broth
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 (1-inch) piece ginger root, peeled and chopped
• 2 tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup milk
• 1-1/2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
• 1/4 cup unsalted butter
• 1 yellow onion, finely shredded
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• Fresh-ground black pepper, to taste
• 1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro, optional

Preparation:

1. Rinse lentils thoroughly and place in a deep pot.
2. Add the chicken broth or water, turmeric, ginger, and tomatoes bring to a boil.
3. Reduce the heat and simmer, uncovered, 25 minutes until the lentils are soft.
4. Remove from the heat and, working in batches, puree in a food processor fitted with the metal blade or blender until smooth.
5. Return the soup to the pot, stir in the milk and salt, and heat until piping hot.
6. Simmer gently over low heat while you finish the recipe.
7. In a skillet over high heat, melt the butter.
8. Add the onions and cumin and cook, stirring occasionally, 5 minutes until the onions are brown.
9. To serve, ladle the soup into warmed bowls and sprinkle generously with black pepper.
10. Divide the onion mixture among the bowls, sprinkle with cilantro, and serve at once.

[recipe via about.com]