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Experimenting with slow cooked dals

This fall we decided to experiment with dhal and the slow cooker

The result of this experiment is that tasty dal can easily be created with a slow cooker and some stovetop tempering with spices and flavorings... (especially if you are using good basmati rice - make a big difference.)

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This amazing Indian food can be so spectacularly delicious and tasty, and even schmecky, that I knew we had to investigate.

Experiment 1 - small brown lentils

These cooked easily... quite soft at 4-5 hours

a bit mushy, and a bit earthy tasting.

Worked well on rice but a bit dark looking... while eating and in the morning.

I should say here that i have been applying Indian techniques to cooking these dishes... after the lentils are cooked in the slow-cooker, they are dumped into a very Indian mixture of ghee, mustard seed, hing, cumin seed, coriander seed and grated fresh ginger... and often a whole small green or jalapeño pepper chopped up fine.

The spices are fried in the ghee so that they sputter and crack, or foam in the case of the hing power... before adding the ginger and pepper and then the lentils which all foam and hiss in a satisfying manner.

Sometimes we add tomato to the mix... either a couple of chopped fresh romanos, or half a can of chopped tomatoes - without salt if available... or alternatively, even a tiny squirt of ketchup... gasp!

It also may be worth mentioning that I am using brown basmati rice as a base for these dhals... I have always loved the fragrance of basmati... and brown is supposed to be healthier... so we have been soldiering on with half cooked - chewey - rice for years... only recently did I discover the secret... put THREE times as much water into brown rice instead of twice as much with white rice...

Cooks a little longer in the rice cooker... but it cooks right... each grain sort of bursts open and is much softer... still a bit chewier than white rice but not half-raw anymore!

Experiment 2 - green split peas

These cook very easily... soft in 3-4 hours and completely decomposed and creamy at 6-7 hours...

Great aroma and happy flavor and easy to clean up...

Treated as above but no tomato in this version...

This was really tasty, in fact I want to the store and bought 2 kg of yellow split peas as they were on sale... about three bucks... and I use a cup for a meal... makes lot for two... more than enough for me...

I tried freezing what was left of the brown lentils above... we shall see...

Anyway these split peas were creamy and delicious and took on the spices well... very nice consistency...

Experiment 3 - green lentils

These turn brown when they cook... soften easily... 3-4 hours and still with some texture 6-7 hours later on low

Rather earthy and slightly acrid odor at first but better aroma when fully cooked...

Tried cooking celery as a substitute for onion which is usual in dhal... chopped fine and added after the spices and cooked for a few minutes in the ghee... supposed to add the mass and texture of onion and in combination with the hing which they absorbe.. the pungency...

These turned out great... a bit watery out of the slow cooker but they cooked down very nicely in the spice mixture...

And the celery was great... wonderful texture and flavor... Thanks to Roberta who gave me this idea.

This dal was delicious with the rice... and may have caused a tiny bit of discomfort the next day until fully released...

Experiment 4 - split and hulled chick peas... chana dal

These had a very nice aroma while they were cooking in the morning... quite different from the split peas... and green and brown lentils...

They cooked so well that after 3-4 hours on high they were already quite soft... and after the afternoon on low they were almost soup... very fragrant soup.

I had a huge breakthrough about getting things into the ghee at the right time and temperature last night... the secret is to put all the spices and ginger and hing and whatnot onto a plate in little piles which you can push into the pan at the right time...

Heating the ghee and adding the spices, hing and ginger and whatever else is an almost theatrical or choreographed event that has a distinct rhythm and most particular requirements... a beginning, middle and end that can be spectacular or less than successful.

Actual Recipe

The idea here is to put the legumes in the slow cooker in the morning and cook them all day... in the late afternoon we incorporate these softened legumes, lentils, dals - into an Indian-inspired flavor-base built up in a saute pan...

This is my effort to produce really delicious creamy dals without spending the day in the kitchen... however lovely that might be on occasion...

Ingredients and Method

In The Slow Cooker

1 cup of dried dal (any legume really, lentils, peas, whole or split)

3 cups water

Place these ingredients in the slow cooker on high in the morning... 8 o'clock or so... [Note that it is essential to pick over the lentils before rinsing them thourally in water. I found a small stone the exact size of half a pea in a store-bought bag of yellow split peas. This could easily have resulted in $1000 in dental work!]

At noon I usually turn the slow cooker down to low, especially if the lentils are getting soft already...

On The Stovetop

At about 5-6 o'clock I put some ghee into a large saucepan and temper spices as described above...

1 tbsp ghee

1/2 tsp cumin

1/2 tsp corriander

1/4 tsp hing (asafetida powder)

1/2 tsp turmeric

1/2 tsp mustard seed

1/2 tsp curry powder or garam masala

1 tbsp ginger freshly grated

1 stalk of celery finely chopped

1 medium jalapeño chopped

Heat the ghee to medium high and test with a few mustard seeds, if they pop, throw in all the rest of the spices, starting with cumin, hing, coriander and masala... Follow with ginger, celery and pepper...

When this is all a bit softened, dump in the slow cooked legumes... Cover or cover partially (depending on liquid level - you want to end up with a fairly thick sauce to put over rice)... and let simmer for half an hour or more...

This is definitely the best dal ever... I will try to put a picture or two in here... after almost an hour on simmer... this dal exhibited a sort of skin on top... but do not misunderstand me... this 'skin' was incredibly delicious... beyond tasty!

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So it turns out that softening the beans and creating the flavor profile are two different things... which works out well for those of us who desire delicious and possibly authentic dal flavors, but also actually work for a living.

Update... Just to be sure I made this exact recipe again tonight... it is just as good... the whole house smells amazing, especially with the basmati rice cooking too... such rich, deep, complex and enticing aromas are very stimulating to experience and relish.... with gratitude, of course to the Creator of All things including lentils... :)

Here is a photo of tonights batch of this delightful and fulfilling dish... (that crusty stuff around the edges is beyond scruptions... you can see where I've had a taste in the lower right... yum!)

 

 

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