Tag: lentils

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Veggie

Dahl Makhani

one and a half slices dahl punjab lentil recipe makhani smoked
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Smoked "Black" Dahl Makhani

one and a half slices dahl punjab lentil recipe makhani smoked

Dahl Makhani loosely translates to Butter Lentils, which I think we can all agree sounds like a good thing. It is also commonly referred to as “Black Dahl” in restaurants. It is made with small, black lentils and smoked using a very peculiar method. If you’re offput by the smoking, you are welcome to skip that step, but I truly do encourage giving it a try as it really adds to the flavor. Otherwise this makes a creamy, spiced, deep dahl that is perfect as a side sauce or as a small soup with naan. Also check out my basic Red Lentil Dahl recipe for the perfect weeknight meal. if you haven’t already.

what you need

3/4 cup dry Beluga (black) lentils, soaked overnight

3 tablespoons salted butter

1 cup of vegetable broth or water

1 tablespoon salt

3 whole cloves

3 green cardamom pods

fresh grated nutmeg

1 cinnamon stick

1 teaspoon smoked paprika

3-4 large garlic cloves, minced or ideally mashed with a mortar and pestle

1 knob of ginger, minced or ideally mashed

1-2 hot green chilies, finely minced

1 large bay leaf 

1 teaspoon cumin or several whole cumin seeds

1/2 large red or yellow onion, finely minced

1 cup pureed tomatoes, either canned or roasted

1/4 cup light cream or 1/3 cup half and half

Dollop of Greek yogurt for serving

Flat leaf parsley for serving

Toasted naan for serving

Note on naan: I like to slice my naan into sticks, drizzle with olive oil, sprinkle with salt and pepper, and toast on each side under the broiler for a minute or two.   

how to make it

Soak the lentils overnight, then simmer in 2-3 cups of water for ~45 minutes until lentils are completely mashable and tender. Ensure there is some liquid left and do not strain. You will use the liquid in the dahl. 

Place butter in a large pan over medium-high heat.

Add cloves, cardamom, cinnamon, cumin, paprika, and bay leaf to the butter and allow to fry for a minute until fragrant. Add the onion, garlic, ginger root, and chilies, and allow to fry another minute or two, careful not to burn. 

Add the tomato puree, lentils in their juices, salt, and 1 extra cup of water or vegetable broth to the pot, stirring well and reducing heat to a low simmer. Grate the fresh nutmeg on top. Simmer low and uncovered for 1-2 hours. You definitely want the dahl to thicken but not all the way to stew-like consistency. Add water as required. If the dahl is drying out too much, you can put a lid on it and simmer slowly. The more slowly you cook Dahl Makhani, the deeper the flavors. 

To smoke. If you desire to smoke the dahl (which I highly recommend you do) all you need is an ember from a wood-burning fire or a piece of charcoal. Heat the charcoal on the stovetop or remove the ember from the fire, and place it in a small bowl. Float that bowl on top of the dahl and drizzle any kind of oil on top. The ember will begin to smoke like crazy assuming it is really hot. Quickly place the lid on the dahl pan and leave for 1-2 minutes. Remove the lid and the smoke will have infused itself in the dahl. 

Check flavor for salt and seasoning before removing from heat and drizzling in the cream. Enjoy with a dollop of Greek yogurt and some flat leaf parsley.

Note: Some Dahl Makhani is also made with 1/4 cup of kidney beans. I like it with just the black lentils but feel free to add the kidney beans as well. 

Indian
one and a half slices healthy local recipe chicken korma curry indian food

Chicken Korma

If you’ve been following this blog for a minute, it’s no secret that I love curries of all kinds. This one is more traditional. A Korma is a traditionally Moghul dish, which has origins in Northern India on into AFPAK. It has a base of coconut, roasted nuts, and raisins or honey, blended into a thick paste which serves as the base for a species of spiced gravy. Served over rice, with naan, or with a side of lemon arugula, it is hearty and filling and brimming with spice. 

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May 17, 2024 4 Comments
one and a half slices dahl indian lentil stew

Dahl (Indian Lentil Stew)

Dahl is an understatement of a dish. Pitch “lentils and spinach cooked until mushy” to most people and you’re unlikely to garner much enthusiasm. But this dish… this dish… is a healthy, satisfying, vegan, weeknight game changer. It is rich and hearty, and I am pretty sure you could top crispy, sea-salted naan with Pennzoil and I’d eat it. The curry spices are not as prominent as in most Indian dishes so the flavors are subtle and the lemon keeps it fresh.

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October 22, 2020 3 Comments

Biryani Rice

I made biryani a couple of times to master the technique, but don’t let the seemingly involved instructions deter you. I’ve made it simple, and if you’re a fan of Indian food – biryani, in particular – you totally got this! This is a vegetable version which I feel works best when it prominently features cauliflower, but you can easily make steak or chicken biryani as well. This biryani rounds out my trifecta of main course rice dishes, to include my Mongolian Beef Fried Rice recipe and super flexible Chicken Rice Pilaf recipe (which has yet to make its way to the blogosphere… coming soon). Anyway, get out your spices and give this hearty, spicy, beauty a try. If you’re really feeling committed to a full Indian/Pakistan spread, pair this alongside my classic Chicken Korma Curry (30 minute curry video version found here).

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May 8, 2021 2 Comments
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Veggie

Asparagus Lentil Soup

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OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Asparagus Lentil Soup with Spicy Pepitas

The Hearty One

This is the third soup recipe in the March Festival of Soups! (inspired by Green Kitchen Stories). And it is The Hearty One (Find The Cozy One and The Best In Show here). This one is the most elaborate but it also may be the most worth it if you’re into a wicked interesting flavor profile and a little meat on your bones (figuratively speaking – the protein in this soup is lentils). With some unique flavors and a burst of freshness that screams spicy, hearty chimichurri, this is just what the late Spring chill ordered to nudge the vibe towards summer and keep out the late-seeping cold. 

what you need

2 tablespoons coconut oil

1 bunch fresh asparagus

1 onion, diced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 fennel bulb, diced

1 handful of spinach or dino kale

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon lemon juice

For the topping…

1 cup brown or puy lentils, boiled until al dente

1/2 cup raw pepitas

1 bunch parsley (flat or curley)

2 tablespoons olive oil

1 green chili, minced

1/4 cup nonfat Greek yogurt + 2 tablespoons more of olive oil

how to make it

Chop the asparagus into 1/2 inch slices, setting the tips aside for use in the topping. Chop the garlic, onion, and fennel, and sauté in the olive oil for 5-7 minutes until soft. Add the spinach, vegetable broth, salt, pepper, and lemon juice, and bring to a little rolling simmer. Let it summer on low for 15 or so minutes while you make the topping…

Set the oven to broil. Toss the pepitas in olive oil, chili powder, cayenne pepper, and salt, and spread onto a  baking sheet. Broil until brown but not burned, removed, and let cool for 10 minutes. Blanch the asparagus tops and chop the parsley finely. 

Toss the blanched asparagus tops, parsley, minced chili pepper, olive oil, and cooled pepitas together into a mixture. Return to the simmering soup, remove from heat, and transfer to a blender. Blend on high for 5-7 minutes or until smooth. 

Pour into bowls and top with pepita mixture. Mix olive oil with Greek yogurt into a crema, and additionally top with the crema. Serve immediately. 
More Soup!
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Veggie

Mushroom Lentil Stew

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Mushroom Lentil Stew

mushroom stew lentil OneandahalfSlices One and a Half Slices weeknight recipe easy

In recent weeks rolling out of the summer months, I’ve been feeling overindulgent when it comes to food. Too much, too extravagant, not enough appreciation for simple, vibrant flavors and how they nourish a body. So I’m rolling back to simple, hearty, (mostly) vegan foods until Thanksgiving. Queue up the following series of fall-esque, hearty, healthy, locally-sourced, (mostly) vegan/vegetarian dishes. Take this stew for example. It has all the body and personality of a meat-based stew conceived of French lentils, soy sauce, white wine, hearty greens, and an unabashed serving of mixed mushrooms. (and yes, I sprinkled some Parmesan cheese on top for good measure) WELCOME TO FALL! 🍂🍁🍄 And shout out to The First Mess for the base recipe! 

what you need

1 cup French lentils, rinsed

2 tablespoons olive oil

2 finely diced shallots

2 finely diced garlic cloves

~1 pound mixed mushrooms! (any mushrooms! all mushrooms! bring them all!)

2 tablespoons fresh thyme leaves

1/4 cup white wine

2 tablespoons soy sauce or tamari

2 cups vegetable broth

1 tablespoon red pepper flakes

1/3 cup plant-based milk (I use Macadamia) or whole milk

3-4 stalks of kale, Swiss chard, or mustard greens

(optional) grated parmesan  cheese for topping

(optional) crusty bread for toasts!

🍵

how to make it

Boil lentils until tender, ~20 minutes. Drain and set aside.

While lentils cook, pour olive oil into stew pot or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add shallots and cook until translucent, ~4 minutes. Add all the sliced mixed mushrooms to the pot and cook for 1-2 minutes more, until mushrooms begin to glisten. Season the mixture liberally with salt, black pepper, the thyme, the garlic, and the red pepper flakes. Give it a good stir and let sit for 1 minute more.

🧅🧄🍄

Add the white wine and the soy sauce (I use tamari) and stir, cooking for ~3 minutes more. Add the drained lentils, the vegetable stock, and the plant-based milk, and bring the mixture to a slight boil, perhaps increasing the heat to medium-high.  After the mixture boils lightly for 5-7 minutes, ladle half the soup into a blender and puree until smooth. Return the smooth mixture to the soup pot and stir until combined. 

🍾🥄

Slice the kale into thin strips and add to the pot, stirring the entire mixture together. Cover and let simmer for anywhere from 5-15 minutes. The mixture should be thick and creamy, but you are welcome to thin it out with additional broth. Check for seasoning adding salt and pepper as desired. Serve with a sprinkle of parmesan cheese on top and a slice of crust hearth bread!

 

 

Other Soups and Stews
oneandahalfslices tomato soup recipe summer

Tomato Soup

Everyone needs a good, solid, simple tomato soup recipe because, let’s face it, if you’re past the age of 5, Campbell’s just doesn’t cut it. I don’t claim that this will be the best tomato soup you’ve ever tasted, but it is very straightforward and easy to whip up during the summer months when there is an excess of tomats. So get your grilled cheese ready (recipe to follow), turn on the oven, and slice up your beautiful reds. 🍅

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August 28, 2021 2 Comments
vegetable soup recipe simple weeknight one and a half slices

Vegetable Soup

We decided to throw together a soup with… whatever was left in the fridge. With this recipe, literally anything goes. Whatever you’ve got in the fridge. Whatever is left over. It can be vegan/vegetarian or use leftover meat. It can be super starchy and hearty, or lighter and more vegetable-forward. In any form, it is simple, warming, and humble – a subtle reminder that we are fortunate to be able to indulge in anything more than this on a regular basis. This was how people cooked 200 years ago in America… in Italy, in France, in Morocco. Peasant food. Make-it-through-the-winter food. I am just as appreciative for dishes like these (and beef stew, and homemade beans, and tagine) as I am for Pot Roast and Pavlova. Also, if anyone else spent their childhood at Medieval Times, this is totally the soup they serve!

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November 17, 2021 2 Comments
one and a half slices chicken soup recipe easy thai spicy local

Zinger Chicken Soup

The origin of this soup is… Fridge Soup. Fridge Soup is soup I make at least once a week, sometimes at the end of a week, when the fridge is almost empty. This particular Fridge Soup, though, came out really, really well. So well that the entire household agreed it deserved its own post. It blends thai flavors with Italian inspo super well in this spicy, zesty, fresh yet hearty soup like nothing I’ve ever quite tasted.

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October 25, 2024 1 Comment
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Veggie

Dahl (Indian Lentil Stew)

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OneandahalfSlices food blog recipes One and a half Slices Virginia eat local

Red Lentil Dahl with Spinach

one and a half slices dahl indian lentil stew

Dahl is an understatement of a dish. Pitch “lentils and spinach cooked until mushy” to most people and you’re unlikely to garner much enthusiasm. But this dish… this dish… is a healthy, satisfying, vegan, weeknight game changer. It is rich and hearty, and I am pretty sure you could top crispy, sea-salted naan with Pennzoil and I’d eat it. The curry spices are not as prominent as in most Indian dishes so the flavors are subtle and the lemon keeps it fresh. So pull out your favorite style of lentil and give this one a try.  

india

what you need

1 tablespoon sunflower oil or ghee

1 1/2 cups red lentils (I have tried with yellow, french, white… all good, but red are the best IMO).

1 can diced tomatoes

2 shallots or 3/4 yellow onion, diced 

fresh ginger root, minced

2-3 cups raw spinach

juice from half a lemon

fresh cilantro

2-3 cloves garlic, minced

1 hot chili pepper, minced

Spices: turmeric, cloves, red pepper flakes, salt, pepper, cardamom, cloves, cumin, mustard seeds, or some sort of garam masala mix

Naan, basmati rice

how to make it

Rinse lentils until water runs clearly through them, then cook for ~15-20 minutes over medium heat in 4 cups of water. As the lentils cook, add salt and a generous amount of turmeric. You want the lentils to break down and become quite thick.

While the lentils simmer,  heat the ghee or oil in a large pan. Add onions or shallots and cook ~3 minutes until soft. Add the garlic and ginger root and cook for ~2 minutes more.

Spice. Remove from heat and add your personal blend of spices, stirring to coat everything in the pan. Toasting the spices in this way releases their flavors, but you want to take care never to burn the spices over high heat, should your dish take on a bitter quality. You can be generous with turmeric, but should be sparing with cloves, cumin, and ginger, all of which can overpower in large quantities. 

Return to heat and add the can of tomatoes, stirring well. The lentils should be completely collapsed by now and all the water evaporated from the pot. Pour the lentils into the pan with the tomatoes and simmer for ~10-20 minutes, taking care not to let the dahl stick to the bottom of the pan.

When ready, add lemon juice and the spinach, stirring and folding so the spinach becomes submerged in the dahl. Cook at least 5-10 minutes more until the spinach is fully integrated. Serve over basmati rice and with naan with a garnish of cilantro.

A note on naan: most any storebought naan will do. Lay it out on a pan, cut it into slivers, and sprinkle with a good olive oil, sea salt, and pepper, and place under broiler until crispy. Really takes this dish to the next level. 

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Viking Lentil Stew

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Viking Stew

viking lentil sausage soup stew oneandahalfslices

It turns out raiding, forging 8th century alliances, and carving out new territory in the Saxon kingdoms really works up an appetite. It is definitely time to make Viking Stew. If there is crisp in the air, you want this stew. You want two bowls of it. And you want it with parmesan cheese on top. It is the most flavor-rich, complex soup I have ever tasted. It leaves you full, warm, and longing to make another pot. The secret is in the quality of the sausage.

what you need

1/8 cup olive oil

1 pound loose sausage of choice, hand rolled into small meatballs (I prefer Spring House Farm’s loose sage, nutmeg, or spicy sausage, but Whole Foods loose sage sausage will do just fine)

1 sweet onion

4 celery stalks

4 small-medium carrots

2 cloves garlic

1 cup French lentils

1 can crushed tomatoes

6 cups water

1 Bay leaf

2-6 cups (2 bunches) thin-cut chard of choice (swiss, rainbow, green)

Red pepper flakes, black pepper, salt, oregano, thyme, to taste

finely grated parmesan cheese, to top

how to make it

Heat olive oil on stovetop in Dutch oven or large soup pot. Brown meatballs until they begin to cook through. Add onions, carrot, and celery (diced), garlic (minced), salt, pepper, crushed red pepper flakes, oregano, and thyme and cook until onions are translucent. 

Once meat and veggies become fragrant, add lentils and stir until well-coated. Add crushed tomatoes, bay leaf, and water, and simmer covered on low heat for about 45 minutes-1 hour, or until lentils are tender.

Add spices to taste and chard (two bunches of chard is going to look like a TON, but it will cook down). Continue to simmer until chard is cooked through, about another 10-15 minutes.

Top with finely grated parmesan cheese (trust me, do not skip the parm; you’ll regret it).

Adjustments: Adjust water volume to make this more or less stew-like. You can also add an extra can of tomatoes if you like your stew extra tomato-y. Sometimes I like to throw in 1/2 cup of barley along with the lentils to stretch this soup a bit further. And, of course, the red pepper is optional (for spiciness) and chard can be substituted for any hearty green, like mustards or kale.    

It turns out claiming new territory and building a Viking settlement in the Saxon kingdoms of Mercia and East Anglia really works up an appetite. I’ve been hard at work in Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, battle axe hardened by great elk antlers and wolf claws, and I decided it was time to make Viking Stew. 

Viking Stew is a cold weather tradition in this house – one that gets exercised almost weekly in the Winter months. Frosty videogames also come with the season. When virtual snow falls in Mel’s living room, it’s a sign of the times (see Frostpunk and The Long Dark for other wintertime favorites). 

But Vikings. They are fascinating.

Beyond the History channel’s Vikings, which had enough historical accuracy to be credible, Netflix’s The Last Kingdom, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, and the award-winning Hellblade: Senua’s Sacrifice, we are not lacking for Viking lore in mainstream media. Vikings had a fascinating culture which drew on Norse mythology as strongly as The Lord of the Rings and Wagner’s Der Ring Des Nibelung. The word “Viking,” itself, is a verb, meaning to adventure, explore, or raid. They were an intense, vivid, unabashed folk whose arrival in Wessex in the 8th century drove the land in its evolution to becoming the modern-day England. Their reverence for the Gods and intense warfighting strategies (ghosted in 8th and 9th century tafl games such as hneftafl) gave them the reputation for being ruthless, heartless conquerors of foreign lands and slaughterers of Christian peoples. But the essence of the Viking culture was to take to the seas, create foreign settlements abroad, and, above all, live and die with honor worthy of the Norse Gods and, ultimately, a seat in Valhalla.

It is a beautiful, unique culture in the history of humankind. And it has absolutely nothing to do with this soup other than this hearty meal is the type of sustenance modern-day pop culture might associate with Vikings. Vikings subsisted primarily on fish, lamb, grains, and ale.  Pictured below are two of my Viking alter-egos – extra points for in-game photography skills.

Eivor
Senua