Punjabi Lentil Soup

The Punjabi Lentils… but in a soup form.

2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP grated ginger
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used cayenne)
½ -1 tsp garage masala
1 can of whole or diced tomatoes with liquid
2 cups of water
1 cup lentils (I use red, they’re pretty)
2-3 handfuls spinach, roughly chopped
½-1 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
garnish- cilantro

In a frying pan heat the oil until sizzly when splashed with water. When ready turn the heat down and cook the onions with salt until onions are soft and golden. Stir in garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, chili powder, and garam masala and cook until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes and water and add lentils and cook until lentils are soft, 20-30 minutes. Add spinach and cook until wilted. Turn down the heat and stir in yogurt (Don't let it boil! The yogurt will separate). Garnish with cilantro.

Basics- Beans

Beans (or legumes, if you want a fancier more encompassing word) are an excellent source of non-soluble fiber (keeps your digestive system in top notch condition), amino acids (proteins), vitamins, and minerals. And since they are dried and can be stored for long periods of time they are an excellent item for food storage. Yes, beans are wonderful.

If you know what to do with them.

Beans are easily added to soups, salads, entrees, marinated, and even baked goods. I’ll try to get a couple more bean recipes up in the next few weeks to help you out. But for starters, let’s learn how to cook them.

Super short, easy way: Get a pressure cooker. Follow the instructions.

Longer, but more common way: Rinse you beans, and pick out any debris in them (aka small rocks). Depending on the bean it will probably need to soak. To soak beans, put them in a pot and add water. Leave it over night, or 6-8 hours. For quicker instructions put beans and water in a pot and bring it to a boil, then turn off the heat and let it sit for 1 hour. To cook, drain water and bring to a boil in fresh water; then lower the heat and simmer until tender, adding more water as needed. Make sure to not add any salt or acid until beans are fully cooked or they will not soften.  See the chart below for helpful bean specifics.

Variety	To soak or not to soak?	Water-bean ratio	Cook time after soaking	Cooked quantity for 1 cup dried
Azuki beans	Soak me!	3:1	¾ to 1 hour	3 cups
Black beans (turtle)	Soak me!	3:1	1 ½ hours	3 cups
Black-eyed peas	Nope	3:1	½ hour	2 ½ cups
Chickpeas (garbanzos)	Soak me!	4:1	1 ½ hours	3 cups
Fava beans	Soak me!	3:1	¾ to 1 hour	3 cups
Kidney beans (red or white)	Soak me!	3:1	1 to 1 ½ hours	2 ¾ cups
Lentils, brown	Nope	2:1	½ hour	3 cups
Lentils, red	Nope	2:1	15-20 minutes	3 cups
Lima beans	Soak me!	3:1	1 hour	3 cups
Mung beans	Soak me!	3:1	¾ hour	3 cups
Pinto beans	Soak me!	3:1	¾ hour	3 ¼ cups
Soybeans	Soak me!	4:1	2 hours	2 ¾ cups
Split peas, green	Nope	3:1	¾ to 1 hour	1 ¾ cups
Split peas, yellow	Nope	3:1	½ hour	2 ¼ cups
White beans (navy, cannellini, etc)	Soak me!	3:1	¾ to 1 hour	2 ¾ cups

Now, cooking beans is a lot of work. Therefore, I would cook a whole bunch at the same time, then spread them on a cookie sheet and freeze them. After they’re frozen put then in gallon ziplock bags and use as needed.

The Great Indian Extravaganza- Day 1

So after my failed yet still tasty attempt (I ate around the spice chunks) at Indian food I went to Broulims to see if they had a spice mill. For future reference, they don't (but they do have a patty shaper, a melon baller, and silicon oven mitts), but they had something just as good. A little coffee grinder. It's so cute and perfect I think I'll have to name it. Here it is in all it's grinding glory--

 Anyway. As good as lunch was it was pretty heavy. And being a sunny day I was hoping for something a little lighter and I found it. This is adapted from a recipe I found in Ajoy Joshi's book Regional Indian Cooking.

Punjabi Lentils

1 1/2 cups cooked lentils*
2 TBSP vegetable oil
1 onion, thinly sliced
1/2 tsp salt
1 1/2 TBSP minced garlic
1 TBSP grated ginger
2 tsp coriander seeds, ground
1 tsp cumin seeds, ground
1/2 tsp chili powder (I used cayenne)
1 tomato, chopped
1/3 cup plain yogurt, whisked until smooth
garnish- cilantro

In a frying pan heat the oil until sizzly when splashed with water. When ready turn the heat down and cook the onions with salt until onions are soft and golden. Stir in garlic, ginger, coriander, cumin, and chili powder and cook until fragrant, 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomato and cook until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in yogurt and mix well (But don't let it boil! The yogurt will separate.) Add lentils and heat through.

*Cooking lentils: cook lentils with twice as much water as lentils until split and soft. Add more water as needed.