When I was a teenager I was what you might kindly describe as, "spirited". If you were being slightly more honest you might have used the words, "strong-willed" to describe me. The truth of the matter was, I was a horrible teenager. The kind you wouldn't have wished on your worst enemy...well maybe you would have wished a teenager like me on your worst enemy, but you would have felt a little bad about it afterwards.
I was such a bad teenager that without going into detail I will inform you that I had to go on one of those wilderness programs right before my 16th Birthday. It was for 3 weeks out in the middle of the Idaho desert, 20 miles from the nearest towns. I sulked and gave venomous looks before I went. I had the most horrid images of hiking around in a hot desert eating nothing but potatoes and bugs for 3 weeks. I was not far off base in my assumptions either. We may not have eaten bugs and potatoes but what we did have to eat was meager. Our breakfast consisted of plain oatmeal which we could sweeten with some raisins. There was no lunch. For dinner we had brown rice and green lentils. All we had to season it with was chicken seasoning, chili powder, salt and pepper. They also gave us a bag of flour so we could make dumplings. For 3 weeks that was all we ate.
I remember the first night we ate our rice and lentils. I sat there for hours while my rice and lentil glop turned into a cold and pasty rice and lentil glop. Our leader sat there watching me try to gag down the mess, refusing to let me go until I finished it. I didn't have a watch out there, but the stars were all out by the time I managed to choke down those last awful bites. By the end of the 3 weeks my taste buds had adjusted to the blandness that was every meal and it was no longer a struggle to eat. But don't be surprised when I tell you that ever since then I have sort of had an aversion to lentils.
In Indian cuisine lentils get used quite a bit. The most common way they get used is in a dish called dal. There are tons of dal recipes out there. Dals are a sort of a stew prepared with pluses like lentils, peas, and beans. The dals are spiced and simmered, sometimes they are even pureed until they are smooth. Traditionally dals are served with rice and a vegetable, or a flat-bread. I knew when I was going to cook Indian food for the month of April that I would be making dals, I just wasn't sure how confident I was that I was going to like them.
But I was brave! Aren't you proud of me? I planned out a few dals that I was going to try. I went to the Indian grocery store and eased my way around the corner and down into the isle that had the different pulses. Mission Impossible music was playing in the background. I eyed the different varieties with suspicion. Looking over my shoulders to make sure I wasn't about to get thrown in a van and dragged back to the desert in Idaho I cautiously lifted a bag off the shelf and put in in my basket. I quickly gathered the other things on my list and got out of the store as quickly as I could before I changed my mind. Back at home I stashed the lentils in my cabinet until the night I had planned my first dal.
Dals are easy to make. Depending on the type of lentil you use dinner can be on the table in 45 minutes from start to finish. This is a weeknight meal. The first one I made I think everyone else was more excited to try than I was, after all it smelled incredible. I made Suvir Saran's simple dal, from his book Indian Home Cooking. I always check the food for seasoning before plating and I did no differently the night I made that dal. I lifted the spoon to my lips, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and opened my mouth. And wouldn't you know that dal was amazing. I mean like really, really good. Good like delectable good. good like, "where has this been my whole life? Good." Suvir has the recipe for his simple dal over on his site. You can get the recipe here. So now you have no excuses not to make it. I dare you not to like dals as much as I do.
After that I made a dal a week, but really I could have made a dal a day. And there should have been more pictures but after that first one I didn't want to wait to take pictures before sitting down to eat. I'm telling you, I never would have avoided lentils like I did if they had given us the proper spices out there in that desert when I was a teenager. Dals are worth trying. I will miss them terribly now that April is done and I'm moving onto a different area of the world. I'm just glad I made extra and have a few different types stashed away in my freezer.
I was such a bad teenager that without going into detail I will inform you that I had to go on one of those wilderness programs right before my 16th Birthday. It was for 3 weeks out in the middle of the Idaho desert, 20 miles from the nearest towns. I sulked and gave venomous looks before I went. I had the most horrid images of hiking around in a hot desert eating nothing but potatoes and bugs for 3 weeks. I was not far off base in my assumptions either. We may not have eaten bugs and potatoes but what we did have to eat was meager. Our breakfast consisted of plain oatmeal which we could sweeten with some raisins. There was no lunch. For dinner we had brown rice and green lentils. All we had to season it with was chicken seasoning, chili powder, salt and pepper. They also gave us a bag of flour so we could make dumplings. For 3 weeks that was all we ate.
I remember the first night we ate our rice and lentils. I sat there for hours while my rice and lentil glop turned into a cold and pasty rice and lentil glop. Our leader sat there watching me try to gag down the mess, refusing to let me go until I finished it. I didn't have a watch out there, but the stars were all out by the time I managed to choke down those last awful bites. By the end of the 3 weeks my taste buds had adjusted to the blandness that was every meal and it was no longer a struggle to eat. But don't be surprised when I tell you that ever since then I have sort of had an aversion to lentils.
In Indian cuisine lentils get used quite a bit. The most common way they get used is in a dish called dal. There are tons of dal recipes out there. Dals are a sort of a stew prepared with pluses like lentils, peas, and beans. The dals are spiced and simmered, sometimes they are even pureed until they are smooth. Traditionally dals are served with rice and a vegetable, or a flat-bread. I knew when I was going to cook Indian food for the month of April that I would be making dals, I just wasn't sure how confident I was that I was going to like them.
But I was brave! Aren't you proud of me? I planned out a few dals that I was going to try. I went to the Indian grocery store and eased my way around the corner and down into the isle that had the different pulses. Mission Impossible music was playing in the background. I eyed the different varieties with suspicion. Looking over my shoulders to make sure I wasn't about to get thrown in a van and dragged back to the desert in Idaho I cautiously lifted a bag off the shelf and put in in my basket. I quickly gathered the other things on my list and got out of the store as quickly as I could before I changed my mind. Back at home I stashed the lentils in my cabinet until the night I had planned my first dal.
Dals are easy to make. Depending on the type of lentil you use dinner can be on the table in 45 minutes from start to finish. This is a weeknight meal. The first one I made I think everyone else was more excited to try than I was, after all it smelled incredible. I made Suvir Saran's simple dal, from his book Indian Home Cooking. I always check the food for seasoning before plating and I did no differently the night I made that dal. I lifted the spoon to my lips, took a deep breath, closed my eyes and opened my mouth. And wouldn't you know that dal was amazing. I mean like really, really good. Good like delectable good. good like, "where has this been my whole life? Good." Suvir has the recipe for his simple dal over on his site. You can get the recipe here. So now you have no excuses not to make it. I dare you not to like dals as much as I do.
Simple dal with chipati
After that I made a dal a week, but really I could have made a dal a day. And there should have been more pictures but after that first one I didn't want to wait to take pictures before sitting down to eat. I'm telling you, I never would have avoided lentils like I did if they had given us the proper spices out there in that desert when I was a teenager. Dals are worth trying. I will miss them terribly now that April is done and I'm moving onto a different area of the world. I'm just glad I made extra and have a few different types stashed away in my freezer.
I am glad I was not the only "difficult" teenager I was sent to convent boot camp. Anyway, your dal looks amazing and I truly love eating it. Warm bread and dal is heaven!! Another beautiful post.
ReplyDeleteI love you. Thanks for sharing that story with me. I never had a lentil until I was married to Rich. I hate em :--)
ReplyDelete