Dhal & Naan Bread: Myles Kennedy | Alter Bridge

Dhal is an Indian staple food made with lentils. As the Indian diet is mostly vegetarian, dhal provides an excellent source of protein. Indians eat per capita just 5kg of meat per annum, compared to Americans, who chow down 123kg of meat per person.

Dhal: Easy and Cheap to Make

Dhal is an easy recipe that calls for few ingredients. The basis of the recipe is a cup of red lentils and some tomatoes. This means that making dhal is also very cheap. The whole pot costs no more than a couple of dollars to make and feeds four.

How to Buy Spices

Dhal is a hot and aromatic food made delectable with an array spices. The most economical way to buy spices is in bulk packages from your Asian, Middle-Eastern or Indian specialty shop. Supermarkets stock smaller spice packets that are more costly.Keep old jam or condiment jars, wash them out and use them to keep your spices at the ready. Always having spices on hand and easily accessible makes whipping up a batch of dhal a quick and trouble free process.

Ingredients

1 tablespoon of vegetable oil

1 medium onion, chopped

2 cloves of garlic, crushed

1 inch of ginger, finely chopped in a blender

1 cup of red split lentils, washed

3 medium tomatoes, choppedJuice of 1 lemon

3 cups of water (750mls)

½ teaspoon of vegetable stock powderSpices1 tsp of cumin

1 tsp of chili powder1 tsp of coriander

1 tsp turmeric

½ teaspoon of garam masala

½ teaspoon of cinnamon

Directions

Sauté the chopped onion in the vegetable oil in a large pan for five minutes until soft.Add the processed garlic and ginger. Then add all the spices and stir for another minute.Add the chopped tomatoes and work all together for a couple of extra minutes. Pour in the 3 cups of water. Stir through the cup of washed red lentils. Add stock powder. Simmer for half an hour, stirring occasionally, until all the lentils have broken up and the flavours are well and truly worked through. Before serving stir through the juice of one lemon.

Serving suggestions

Serve with basmati or brown rice, topped with fresh coriander and pappadams. (Supermarkets sell pappadams that can be easily made in the microwave.)

How to Cook Classic Indian Naan

Place the flour, salt, onion powder, sugar, and yeast in a large bowl and mix well. Heat the milk until it is lukewarm. Reserve 1/2 tub of yogurt and add the rest to the milk and blend thoroughly. Beat the egg and set to one side. Melt the butter.

Add the milk and yogurt mixture, the egg, and butter to the flour, and knead with your hands until soft and springy dough is formed. Place the dough in a large plastic bag. Loosely seal the bag so that the dough has enough room for expansion.

Leave in a warm place for 30-60 minutes, until doubled in size. Divide the dough into 4 balls, cover them, and set aside for 10 to 15 minutes.

Switch on the oven, and put an ungreased baking sheet into it for about 10 minutes. Remove the sheet from the oven and line it with waxed paper. Take one of the balls and stretch it gently to make a teardrop shape. Lay this on the baking sheet and press it gently to stretch it until about 6-7 inches in length, maintaining the teardrop shape at all times. Make the other 3 shapes similarly, and brush with the reserved yogurt. Bake on the top shelf of a 450F oven for 10-12 minutes, or until puffed and browned. Keep the naan warm in a clean dishcloth or foil package until ready to serve.

rockthechef.com 2010