Pakistani recipes? Or Indian?

[sariana]

DH spent a year deployed to Pakistan, and he loved the food there. He says the vegetable dishes were really good, and he mentions something called Dhal (no idea how to spell it). I don't know if that is a vegetable dish or not.

Does anyone know of any good Pakistani or Indian recipes? It would be especially helpful if they were easy to make in small quantities, as I don't like curry or some of the other spices commonly found in south Asian food. So if I could make it just for him, that would be ideal.

[bubbaray]

http://www.amazon.com/Everyday-Indian-Fresh-Healthy-Recipes/dp/1552859487/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1313972046&sr=8-3

I have that book, its pretty good. She also has a new one out.

Most indian recipes make large quantities, though. I've never seen any that just make 1-2 servings.

[momm]

Daal is made with cooked lentils. It is vegetarian. You can make it without curry powder, and you can make it non-spicy.

Here is a recipe for Daal, (pronounced as Dahl as in "Roald Dahl"), using stuff you might have lying around the house.

You can either drink it as a soup, or dip bread (regular bread or Indian naans you can buy from the store) and eat it that way.

Ingredients:
Half cup medium chopped onions
One green chili (this chili, not the Mexican chili - http://www.manataka.org/images/Green%20Chili.jpg) - this is OPTIONAL, in case you want to avoid all spice altogether.
Two garlic cloves - chopped
One slice ginger - chopped fine
One cup lentils
One bunch chopped coriander leaves.

Boil lentils until soft. Mash with a potato masher. Keep aside.
In a saucepan, heat a few drops of oil for a minute.
Put the chopped onions in, and fry them till they turn slightly brown.
Slice the green chili in half, length-wise and put it in.
Put the garlic and ginger in. Fry for a minute.
You can now put the cooked lentils in. It will be a thick mixture.
Let it fry for a few minutes. You will know when it's done when it starts changing color slightly. This is to get the raw taste out of the mashed lentils.
Once it's done, add as much water as to how thick/ thin you want the soup. Let this simmer on low heat
Salt the daal.
Once the mixture is even and heated through, turn off the flame and add the chopped coriander leaves on top.
Cover and keep for a bit before serving


Hope your DH and you like it!

[wellyes]

If you're interested in learning Indian cooking, the most authentic cookbook I know of is Julie Sahni's. http://www.amazon.com/Classic-Indian-Cooking-Julie-Sahni/dp/0688037216/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1313974439&sr=1-7

If you just want to play with some recipes, look up Mark Bittman's stuff. That man loves dhal. See http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/06/dining/06mini.html?ref=dining Or pick up a copy of How to Cook Everything Vegetarian at the library.

[Pepper]

Dhal freezes really well, so you can make a big batch of it and freeze it in single-serving containers for later.

The only cookbook I have for Indian food is Charmaine Solomon's "The Complete Asian Cookbook," because I like it so much I've never had the urge to get another. It actually covers 14 countries so it's not encyclopedic for Indian food. She lumps Pakistan into the same chapter as India so there are some recipes from that country in there, too.

[citymama]

Madhur Jaffrey's Indian and South Asian cookbooks are wonderful and fairly simple to follow: http://www.amazon.com/Home-Madhur-Jaffrey-Delectable-Bangladesh/dp/0307268241/ref=sr_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1313990619&sr=8-3

Daal is the generic word for lentils - brown, red, yellow, split peas, etc. If you live anywhere near an Indian grocery store, you can buy dried daals/lentils and Indian spices to prepare the daal. Or find a good Indian restaurant and order take out daal makhani or chana daal! :ROTFLMAO:

[sariana]

You guys are awesome! Thank you!