Saturday, January 22, 2011

Dal Dahl Daal Dhal

I've never made the perfect one. There's always an ingredient missing so each one I've made is a little different but they are always popular.  In fact, I am known for it.  Delicious & so easy.  One pot cooking is my favourite.

I was initially inspired by the Hari Krishna one & they do not use garlic or onions & there's is a mung bean.
I will try & give an idea of measurements but I just guesstimate.  The great thing is you can vary it depending on what you have in the kitchen.

Ingredients:
1 -2 tins/cups lentils- there must always be lentils but sometimes I add chick peas as well
1 tin chopped tomatoes
1 tin coconut milk
fresh ginger chopped fine or grated, heaps of it say, 1/3 cup & ginger powder
garam masala
cumin
coriander
soy sauce
chili sauce
sugar to taste(palm sugar is best)
oregano
1 x medium sweet potato
1 x potato
1/3 of a  large cauliflower
vegetable oil

Method:
chop veggies fairly small
Fry dry spices first with fresh ginger in the oil
add veggies & continue for a few minutes
then all wet ingredients & oregano & level desert spoon sugar(you can leave sugar out if you prefer)
Bring to the boil, then high simmer for 20 mins. than low simmer for an hour(you don't have to do it for that long but it' s better)

Serve with some basmati rice, you won't need salt because of the soy & season with pepper if you like.






Enjoy, I'm off to have some now. XX

Friday, January 14, 2011

The Dark & Light

It was raining in Brisbane non stop for a month & a half before the floods hit Every morning waking up to grey was getting old & everything felt wet & mould was growing.

I saw these flowers on Sunday (reduced to $4, gotta love a bargain) & had to take them home to have something sunny to look at.

Then on Monday it was raining so hard I could photograph it.
Tuesday morning I woke to the news of the floods & the water was heading this way.
I was evacuated in the '74 floods & the news brought back all those memories.  It was a little frightening.
It did flood badly in parts of my suburb but we were safe & dry as we're up quite high. Typical of hilly Brisbane.
Houses at one end of a street could be completely submerged & untouched at the other.  It's hard to fathom & this will affect everyone in one way or another.
Now everyone is so keen to just clean up & get things back to the way they were.
Unfortunately that's not possible for some as lives have been lost & families devastated.
Sadly it's brought out the worst in some but thankfully the best in others & thankfully, the latter is the majority. XX