yonmei

10:23 pm: Recipe: daal
Buy daal. (They sell it in big bags at any local South Indian shop.)

In a slow cooker, add two cups daal, seven cups boiling water, and a teaspoon of salt. (Properly speaking you should also add a tablespoon of turmeric, but I didn't have any: I'd forgotten that before I went to Montreal, I threw all my old herbs/spices out.)

Put the slow cooker on High for a couple of hours. Stir sporadically.

The daal will be a thick porridge. (Rather pale, since I had no turmeric. I added a vegie stock cube instead.)

Classically daal is flavoured with garlic and fresh coriander cooked together and swirled through the daal once it's porridge. I chopped a lot of garlic, a lot of fresh ginger, and two tomatoes. I fried it all in butter with a teaspoonful of coriander and a tablespoon of curry powder.

When cooked, I swirled the mix through the daal, which by this time was really pretty thick. Switched off the slow cooker and left it to soak up the flavours (though I did try it fresh and it was pretty good even then).





Tags: coriander, curry, garlic, recipe, slow cooker, tomato

03:58 pm: Broccoli and pea soup, with strife
Soak about a cupful of dried split peas in boiling water.

Chop and fry three onions: when they're soft, add a chopped head of broccoli.

Add salt, dried basil and marjoram.

Listen to brother snarling at parents in background. Stir onions and broccoli over a strong heat till they're just beginning to brown.

Drain and add the soaked peas, then about 2 litres of water and a couple of veggie stock cubes, and a dash of Worcester sauce. Reflect that it isn't veggie and decide not to mention that, because of the lack of other spices available.

Simmer for about 10-20 minutes while brother attempts to pick fights with everyone at table.

Swirl the stick blender about in the soup till smooth, and serve with good bread and cheese. Calm ensues.



Tags: broccoli, family stuff, onions, recipe, soup

12:31 am: Dad's bread
I make good bread myself, but my dad makes - and has made for the past thirty years or so - the most reliably fabulous bread you ever tasted. With typical modesty, he claims it's all in the flour, but while as a baker I know the flour is important (I am currently savouring my way through bread made with a dark brown Belgian flour called Waldkorn that makes a wonderful loaf) the technique matters too. My dad wrote this recipe down for someone else, but I snaffled it and am reposting it here without his permission. Nobody tell him, okay?

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( Recipe for the most reliably fabulous bread in the world )

Tags: bread, family stuff, flour, recipe