Recipe review - Spicy Tomato & Lentil Dahl p33 - Rainbow Recipes

[Vivaroo]

I made exactly as is and I hate to say it but really lacking in flavor and not something we wanted to eat.  I'm afraid a newcomer wanting to try vegetarian food might run to the nearest butchery.  But...

 I turned it into a really nice shepherds pie the next night. While my potatos were cooking in freshly made cashew milk (positive recipe in this book), I sliced some celery, zucchini, green beans and sautéd on the stove in some garlic infused oil with a few mustard seeds, ginger & cumin seeds. Then I added 1/2 tsp tamarind paste, last nights lentils, some frozen peas, and some sultanas. Added a lirttle extra salt & pepper and some chopped parsley at the end. 

In summary I'd say its good enough to use as a base recipe for cooking lentils but needs lots of additions.

[Sforcina]

Hi Vivaroo,

Your improvements sound delicious.  You're right, this is a base recipe.  The variations in the recipe recommend the addition of other vegetables such as carrots, peas, corn, potato, etc.  This dahl recipe is really nice served with Indian Spiced Potatoes (page 37) or even combine left over Indian Spiced Potatoes with the dahl.   

I am very glad to hear of your inventiveness.  This is what cooking is all about - taking a recipe as a landscape and filling in the detail to suit your personal preferences.  The TM is the best tool to use - it makes experimentation quick and simple and the results always come out edible.

All the best,

Aileen

[Vivaroo]

Hi Aileen,

Thanks for the Indian Spiced Potatoes recommendation.  I've never thought to cook potatoes in coconut cream and that looks delicious. 

I need to practise different dahl recipes to find the very best, like the one I buy at a local cafe.  This style of cooking is relatively new to me and I still don't have many 'go to' dishes like I did when I was eating meat.  I have a tough meat-loving audience to cook for each night, so I have to make the food really great for the others not to complain.  So apologies for the dud review of your dahl which is a great base for cooking lentils which is an unusual ingredient for anyone brought up on the Standard Australian Diet.

Thanks for writing this lovely cookbook.

[jkmt]

Viv, another Rainbow Recipe you might like to try for your meat-loving audience is the Stroganoff Gravy. That is one of my favourites from this book (though I've still got to try out lots of the recipes).

[Cuilidh]

I made this yesterday, before I read the reviews.  I also found that it lacked a bit of oompfh (?) and that the lentils hadn't cooked through.  I would suggest pre-soaking the lentils if you have the time or else cooking for longer. I also added a couple of tablespoons of Worcestershire Sauce which worked very well.  I think a bit more cumin and salt would make a difference too. 

It also tasted much better the next day, like so many similar dishes.