Food, Simply

Bhutanese instructors Bhagawati and Devi demonstrate dal and kheer

We’re big into food in our house, so when we got a little money back from filing our taxes, of course we splurged a little more on food: There was delicious roast, a wonderful German-style spread of breads, meat, and cheeses, and in what may be the least ironically intended  purchase of all, a nice, thick slab of Vermont Smoke n’ Cure bacon (we were living “high on the hog”).

But after a few days of this, it was time to return to our more thrifty and less meat-centric  ways. So of course my first thought turned to lentil soup, and that is exactly what I made the other day, to no one’s disappointment. (My 5-year old ate 3 bowlfuls).

It got me thinking about our Mosaic of Flavors cooking series, with refugee instructors who have travelled here from many parts of the world, and how most of the recipes we prepare are simple, healthful, and abundantly affordable. Most of the world, it turns out, cooks fairly simply, from staple foods.

A case in point is the lentil soup (dal) and rice pudding (kheer) Bhagawati Gurung and her sister Devi made last month. The two sisters and their friend moved to Winooski from Bhutan two years ago. They eat dal just about every day, usually served with rice, and sometimes accompanied with pickles they make themselves. The rice pudding recipe is classic and simple, but they sometimes dress it up with cardamom, raisins, slivered almonds….You get the idea. Here are the ingredients for the basic recipes we made that night:

And the whopping total for this meal, which serves 4?

(The "ORG" stands for organic.)

So whichever side of the equation you find yourself on today, on tax day, cooking dal is never a bad idea, and definitely a tasty one.

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Dal

1 cup red lentils

1 Tbs. vegetable oil

1/2 cup chopped onion

2 garlic clove minced

1/2 tsp. turmeric powder

2 tsp. salt

Soak lentils in 1 cup warm water for 10 minutes. Then pour off water, rinse, and drain.

Heat oil in a medium-sized pot. Once oil is hot, add onion, garlic, turmeric, lentils, and salt, and stir for 2 minutes. 

Add 6 cups water to the pot, cover, and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to low and cook for 30-45 minutes, or until lentils are soft. Taste and adjust seasoning.

Serves 4.

Kheer

½ cup basmati rice

2 cups milk

¼ cup freshly grated coconut

½ cup sugar

3 Tbs. butter

Soak rice in enough water to cover for 10-15 minutes. Pour off water, rinse, and drain.

In a medium sized pot, boil milk over medium-low heat. Once it is at a boil, add drained rice, coconut, sugar, and butter. Turn down heat to low and cover and let simmer for 20-30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Pudding should have a fairly thick consistency.

Serves 4.