Simple Chickpea Masala and Black Lentil Masala
For my second and third recipe I tried the Simple Chickpea Masala and the Black Lentil Masala. They are basically the same recipe, but one uses chickpeas and the other black lentils. I made the Chickpea Masala first. The seeds smelled delicious when they were cooking and once the onion was browned, I added two cloves of garlic and cooked for a minute. Garlic was not in the original recipe, but felt that it would be a good addition after reading the ingredient list.
I
processed everything in my mini food processor and then added them back to the
pot. I continued by adding the rest of the spices, including the salt, crushed
tomatoes, and chickpeas. (The author asked for diced, but crushed is our pantry
staple.) I simmered the dish for about 10 minutes and then added ¾ cup coconut
milk. It felt a little thin to me and I prefer a thicker sauce when cooking
chickpeas, because I feel it adheres to the bean better and results in a
tastier dish. As a result, I simmered the dish for about 10 minutes more,
adding cilantro at the end. The meal was good, but not great. It lacked flavor
and spice. It lacked flavor and spice. I have had similar chickpea masala
dishes: Chana Masala; Tikka Masala, even “Butter” Chickpeas, with basically the
same ingredients, all of which had more flavor.
About a week later, I tried the Black Lentil Coconut Masala. Black lentils can be a harder ingredient to source; I get mine through Rancho Gordo. There is a wonderful Indian food store in Lafayette off of South Boulder Road, called Krishna Grocery. They have a great selection of lentils and beans used in Indian cuisine and the customer service is superb.
I
began with the seeds and then sautéed the onion with two cloves of garlic.
(Again, the garlic was not in the original ingredient list, but I think it
added depth to the overall flavor of the dish.) Once finished, I processed them
in the mini food processor and then returned them to the pot and added the
spices and cooked for about 30 seconds to a minute. I decided to add more spice
to this dish and my final spice amounts were: ½ teaspoon each of cumin and
mustard seed, 3 teaspoons coriander, 2 teaspoons cumin; ½ teaspoon turmeric, ¼
teaspoon each of cayenne and black pepper, and 1 teaspoon of salt. I rinsed and soaked my black lentils earlier,
so when it was time to cook I only added 2 cups of veggie broth. After about 15
minutes, the lentils were ready and I put the tomatoes in the pot. I cooked
everything for 5 minutes and then added about ¾ cup of coconut milk. (I didn’t
use coconut cream because the homemade GF naan that I make calls for about ¾
cup coconut milk, so I was able to split a can for this recipe.) There was a
generous amount of sauce, but it worked well with the rice. I added fresh
cilantro at the end and served it with Basmati rice and GF naan.
This black lentil recipe was great! The addition of garlic was a good idea and upping the spices was a must. The black lentils were easy to cook and the sauce was very flavorful. The dish was delicious the night it was served, as well as the next day for lunch. If I make it again, which I definitely feel I will, I would use coconut cream instead of coconut milk. Anywhere between ¼ - ½ of a cup would work well.
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