Indian comfort food: dal and rice
Dal and rice is a staple in Indian cuisine and is usually served with other dishes. With my busy schedule, I usually just have it as my main meal when I am craving my mom’s cooking and don’t have a lot of time to cook anything else. What makes cooking Indian food easy to me is to have all of the spices in one place like the round container that you see below in my photos. I use a lot of the same spices in most of my Indian recipes. Here is the recipe taught to me by my mom with some slight changes:
First, I washed 1 cup of basmati rice and then added 2.5 cups of water in my rice cooker and set it to cook so it would be ready at the same time as the dal.
Ingredients for dal: 1 cup red lentils, 4 cups water, 8 curry leaves, 2 green chili peppers, 1 tbsp grated ginger, 1 garlic clove, 1 diced tomato, 1/2 tsp brown sugar, 1 tsp salt (or to taste), 1 tsp turmeric powder, 1 tsp cumin powder, 1 tsp coriander powder, dash of red chili powder, 1 tbsp canola oil, 1 tsp cumin seeds, 1 tsp mustard seeds, 1 tsp Fenugreek seeds, 1/4 tsp asafoetida, 2 tbsp chopped cilantro, 1 tbsp lemon juice
Steps to making dal: I washed the red lentils several times and then added it to 4 cups of water to boil in a large sauce pan. Next, I added the curry leaves, chili peppers, ginger, garlic, tomato, brown sugar, and salt. I allowed the lentils to boil under medium heat while I tempered some spices.
In a separate small fry pan with 1 tbsp of canola oil, I added the cumin seeds, mustard seeds, fenugreek seeds, and asafoetida. Once I could smell the fragrance from the browned seeds, I poured this sizzling mixture straight into the boiling lentils.
Next, I added turmeric powder, cumin powder, coriander powder, and a dash of chili powder to the lentils and turned down the heat allowing the lentils to simmer.
Once my lentils (dal) had been cooking for about 20-25 minutes total, I turned off the stove and added the chopped cilantro and lemon juice.
I served the dal over the rice which you can see in the last photo below. It also goes good with papad and mango pickle on the side. This recipe can be adapted to almost any type of bean or lentil that you have in your pantry as long as you adjust the cooking time.
Seafood, beer garden, mini golf, and more
Last weekend, we finally made the trek to Red Hook in Brooklyn to check out the fairly new restaurant/bar, Brooklyn Crab, which is directly across from Fairway, one of my favorite grocery stores. Brooklyn Crab looks like it belongs on a beach except it is 3 stories high with a gigantic backyard mini golf and cornhole play area. They have an extensive menu of seafood choices ranging from crab legs, to raw oysters, to fried seafood, etc., including a decent children’s menu. We ordered the fried oysters sandwich, fried clams basket, and fish & chips. Their bar looks very well stocked and has a wide selection of craft beers on tap. Everything was pretty good but the best part was the huge mini golf course downstairs where you can have a beer while you play. Check out some of the photos below!
A very simple banana bread recipe
A very simple banana bread recipe
I have a ton of overripe bananas sitting on my kitchen counter so am going to try out this banana bread recipe that looks SUPER easy! I’ll update later on how it turns out.
Later today:
This recipe was amazing – not only tasty but easier then I had expected! I’ve tried several other recipes in the past that were more complicated and didn’t turn out as moist as this recipe. My son gobbled up a slice with a glass of milk after dinner.I used the recipe from the link above plus added 1 tsp vanilla and a half tsp of cinnamon. I especially liked this banana bread recipe since I usually have all of the ingredients in my kitchen. One tip is to freeze overripe bananas whole with skin on in the fridge and then thaw out before peeling and using in the recipe (a great way to store and use bananas that are too ripe to eat). We’ll be definitely packing some slices of the banana bread in our snack bag tomorrow for our trip to the Bronz zoo!
Tomatoes from my container garden
I decided to be ambitious this year and grow 4 different varieties of tomatoes from a container garden on my balcony. The tomato plants were chosen by my son from our local farmer’s market and include the following varieties of tomatoes: sweet million, cherry, heirloom, and green zebra. They are pretty easy to grow except that they need a LOT of water daily and some type of support so that they don’t bend over. Since we have a balcony with railings, I was able to use my son’s craft pipe cleaners to tie the vines to the railing for support. I realized that growing things is a great way to get your picky kid to try things. I was so excited when my son told me that he wanted to try the tomatoes when they were ready. Unfortunately, he wasn’t a fan but hopefully that will change as he gets older. I used the tomatoes in a salad yesterday and they tasted so much better then any tomatoes I’ve bought from a grocery store.
Texas based treats in Brooklyn
I’m sitting at one of my favorite new coffee shops, Brooklyn Kolache Company, that offers a very interesting treat called a kolache. The owner is a local mom from Austin who bakes these delicious savory and sweet pastries daily. If I am in a savory mood, I get the jalapeno/cheese/egg which is a spicy but satisfying breakfast item. She has an interesting range of sweet kolaches like the sweet cream or peanut butter & jam which might appeal to kids. They serve kitten coffee (regular, iced, and espresso based drinks) and have a beautiful interior (including wifi!) which makes it a great place to hang out during the day. The best part about this place is that it is a 2 minute walk from my home!
Oysters and cocktails in the burg..
I’ve only had oysters a few times in my life and was never blown away until this visit to Maison Premiere in Williamsburg – Brooklyn. We arrived there on a Friday late afternoon around 4pm (when it opens) to find a line outside the door to our surprise. Luckily we were able to get a table within a few minutes but I noticed that all the tables were full soon after so if we had come any later, we would have been waiting for some time. Our table had a menu in a check-list form with a pencil to order different varieties of oysters from along with a separate menu for cocktails – which included juleps and absinthe based cocktails. Below you can see the beautiful presentation of the oysters which were quite delicious and fresh. I’ll definitely be back!
Addicted to SCRATCHbread
I am addicted to this bakery/foodie destination in my neighborhood that sells baked goods, coffee/juice, breakfast, and lunch out of a window. There is a small ledge (no seats) next to the window to enjoy the goodies. For the past few months, I’ve been stopping by for coffee and breakfast several times a week. Everything is made from scratch (hence the name SCRATCHbread) and their prices are quite reasonable. On this trip, I ordered their delicious Stumptown coffee, a bitter chocolate/dried cherry scone, and an egg sandwich which consisted of a slice of fresh baked bread with a soft boiled egg, topped with a jalapeno and avocado spread, and a slice of thick cut bacon. They are open 6 days a week (closed on Thursdays) and open at 6:30am on weekdays which is great! I’m looking forward to taking one of their cooking classes which will be offered on Thursdays in the coming months. Look out for more posts on SCRATCHbread in the coming months!
Egg sandwich, Scone, and Coffee
Foodie Brooklyn Mom 