Indian Dal in the Slow Cooker

Urad dal (black gram)

“Reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, for 4 1/2 – 5 hours,” instructs Julie Sahni in her recipe for buttered black beans (kali dal). Even for the most dedicated home cook, it’s an instruction that is asking for trouble, especially for something thick and viscous like Indian dal. When I made these beans in a […]

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A Pickle’s Comeback

This is a short tale of how a humble, but spunky, pickle made a comeback, a bold emergence from obscurity to a prime supporting role. I’m lucky to have a big lemon tree in my backyard in Berkeley, so I have plenty of lemons with which to experiment. In January 2005–over eighteen months ago–I made […]

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Noodles in Indian Cuisine

During a conversation with a friend a little while ago, the subjects of “noodles” and “Indian food” came up. Although we are both somewhat familiar with Indian cuisine, neither of us could think of any “classic” Indian noodle dishes on par with those of Burma, Vietnam, Japan, Korea, China and Thailand. For these countries, a […]

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December Dal – Part 4, Toor Dal

The fourth part of my December Dal series focuses on cajanus cajan, a legume commonly known as toor dal, toovar, thuvar, arhar, frijol de arbol and pigeon pea (quite a few more are listed at ecoport). Toor dal is relatively large (average diameter about 8 mm) compared to other split legumes used in Indian cooking. […]

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