Yellow Quinoa Dal + Teff Flatbread ("Roti") - Marcella

I love Indian food. Most of what you can get at restaurants is greasy or full of butter or cream, unfortunately. Not ALL Indian food is full of dairy - like other "ethnic" foods available in the U.S. what's available in the restaurants is what sells and American people love creamy and fatty food. These recipes are a little involved but make a lot of food.



Yellow Split Pea & Quinoa Dal (makes lots)

• 1 tsp oil
• 1 onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp black mustard seeds
• 2 Tbsp minced ginger (you can buy prepared in a jar)
• 1 Tbsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 Tbsp ground coriander
• 1.5 cups yellow split peas
• 3/4 cup uncooked quinoa
• 2 carrots, chopped
• 1 Tbsp raw sugar (optional)
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice
• 1 tsp salt, or to taste - it makes a whole lot, hence a lot of salt
  
• cayenne (optional)

Heat up oil in a big soup pot and saute onion for a few minutes. Add mustard seeds, saute about 1 minute. Add other ingredients up to split peas and saute another minute.

Add split peas, quinoa, and 6 cups water to the pot and bring to a boil. Add carrots. Bring to a boil again, cover, and simmer for 45 minutes to an hour til the peas are soft, stirring about every 10 minutes.

Season with the sugar, lemon juice, salt, and cayenne before serving. This makes about 6-8 big servings. We had ours with some spicy pickled vegetables (so so salty so we can only have a tablespoons' worth) and mango chutney from the Indian grocery, and the pretty healthy flatbread recipe below for scooping.

Skillet Flatbread

• 1 cup teff flour usually in the "natural foods" baking section
• 1/2 cup whole wheat pastry flour
  
• 1/4 to 1/2 tsp salt
• 1/4 tsp baking soda
• 1 cup plain soy yogurt ( Silk makes a large container of this)

In a big bowl, mix the flours, salt, and baking soda. Whisk the yogurt and water separately, then add to dry mix. It should have a heavy cream consistency - add more water if necessary. Cover and let stand for 30 minutes.

Spray a nonstick skillet with some cooking oil spray and heat to high. I really like electric skillets for this - and for making the omelets in a previous post. They seem to heat more evenly and sticking isn't a problem. Anyway:

Use 1/2 cup measure to scoop up the batter and plop in the center, spreading it into about an 8 inch round by tilting and swirling the pan. Cover and reduce to med-low and cook 1-2 minutes. Uncover, flip, and cook the other side about 2 minutes. Repeat as necessary til fully cooked - it should be golden. You can keep them warm as you make the rest by putting them in a loose foil wrap in a warm oven.

To eat with dal or anything you like, tear into pieces and scoop up the food. They're delicious.

Indian Food, Part 1 - Marcella

I've been cooking a lot of Indian food lately, having been inspired by some Indian feasts at the home of our friends' Deepak and Matt.

We don't go out for Indian anymore, since it's generally very oily and hard for us to stomach these days. Fortunately I have a great cookbook: Dakshin: Vegetarian Cuisine from South India that has a lot of pretty healthy recipes, aside from the deep-fried things, desserts, and so on.

Some recipes to come after this one are: Gobi (cauliflower), Channa Masala (chickpeas) and Bhurta (eggplant) - all stuff you can get when going out for Indian, but easy to make at home. I made all of the above for a Christmas feast, with brown Basmati rice (Trader Joe's), and lots of lentil-stuffed samosas (delicious fried savory pastries) and other appetizers you can get in abundance in the frozen section of an Indian market. All very light and healthy EXCEPT the samosas - great finger food for parties but a dangerous habit to get into at home alone.

Anyway, an Indian grocery - like Laxmi Palace on Parham Rd - is a great source of spices, beans, vegetables, and fruit. You can pick up all kinds of chutneys and pappadum (lentil crackers) there cheaply too for a true Indian feast. Mangoes are way cheaper there than elsewhere, too.

Moong Dal (split mung bean soup)
I didn't measure things exactly - adjust to suit your tastes. Tastes like "exotic" split pea soup.

• 1 cup moong dal (mung beans) - get at Ellwood Thompson's bulk section if you can't make it to an Indian grocer, or use split peas
  
• about 4 cups water
• 1 tsp oil
  
• 1/2 an onion chopped
• garlic and ginger, minced, or garlic and ginger paste - about 1 tsp each
  
• cumin seeds, about 1/2 tsp
• mustard seeds, about 1/2 tsp - optional
• ~6 curry leaves (in the fridge at the Indian grocer, optional)
• asfoetida spice (Indian grocer)
  

1. In a medium pot, on medium-low to medium, heat up the oil. Add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes, then add remaining ingredients. Cook until mustard seeds start spluttering, taking care not to burn.
2. Turn heat up to high and add water and moong dal (mung beans) or split peas. Bring to a boil, then turn down to medium-low, cover, and simmer until beans are soft - about 45 minutes to an hour.