Dal Nirvana and Homemade Naan

Lentils have become a frequent guest at our dinner table lately. We got a big bag of them from Costco, so I feel like I HAVE to use them...which has turned out to be a good thing. Its an ingredient that I didn't know much about, but they pack a huge nutritional punch. One serving can give you half of your DRV of protein and fiber. Win win in our house!

So it was perfect when a few weeks ago a friend mentioned she had an Indian dish called "dal" at a mutual friend's house using lentils. I was intrigued. I've never heard of it, and when I got home I did a little google research on it. Dal (or Dhal) is a broader term to include all legumes in the pulse family (lentil, dried pinto beans, navy beans, dried peas, etc.) that are very common in South Asian cuisine. Dal also refers to the stew made with these pulses.

This particular recipe is from Steamy Kitchen (which, by the way is a wonderful food blog, check it out!) It's basically lentils, stewed with tomato, ginger and garlic with a touch of cream at the end. To me, it sounded so simple I couldn't imagine it would be good. But I was SO WRONG. This stuff was AMAZING. This is hands down the best Indian dish I have made at home. It's creamy and spicy and so good scooped up with fresh homemade naan.

I've made naan before, but this time I decided to use a different recipe. I did a quick search and based on the ingredients I had on hand, this recipe from Taste and Tell fit the bill. Homemade naan is a little time intensive because you do have to let the dough rise twice. I guess if you were pressed for time you could skip the second rise, but I'm a firm believer in the second rise for a really nice texture.

To cook up the naan I just used a cast-iron skillet. I think next time I will use my large griddle so I can cooked a few at a time. Doing them one by one resulted in me standing in the kitchen with oil and flour covered hands for an hour with my little one year old screaming at me the whole time to pick her up. Oh the joys of dinner time crazies. It's only from about 4-5:30 that I wish I had a nanny so I could cook dinner in peace. Oh well. I'll put it on the list for Santa Claus (I wish...).

On to the recipes!

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Dal Nirvana
Prep Time: 5 minutes  Cook Time: 1 hour 15 minutes Servings: 4
(source: steamykitchen.com)

Notes: For this recipe I used a lentil trio mix. I think any dry lentil will do in this recipe. Just whatever you can find at your local grocery store. Also, canned coconut milk would be a really nice substitution for the cream in this recipe. I'm going to try it next time! 

1 cup dry lentils
8 oz crushed tomato
1 Tb grated fresh ginger
1 Tb minced garlic
1/8 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper (based on heat preference)
1 cup water
4 Tb butter
1/4 tsp salt
1/2 tsp black pepper
1/2 cup heavy cream
minced cilantro for garnish

• Cook lentils according to package directions, drain off excess water
• Place lentil back in pot and add tomato, ginger, garlic, cayenne pepper, water, butter, salt and pepper. 
• Bring mixture to a gentle boil, then turn down heat and simmer for about an hour, stirring occasionally to make sure it doesn't burn on the bottom.
• Add cream, stirring to combine and serve with cilantro

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Naan

Prep time: 1 hour 45 minutes  Cook time: 30 minutes Servings: 12-15 medium sized pieces

(source: tasteandtellblog.com) 

Note:  It is ok for them to get some burned spots...that's what makes naan so tasty!

1 Tb active dry yeast
1 cup warm water
1/4 cup white sugar
3 Tb milk
1 egg, beaten
1 tsp salt
3 - 4 cups all purpose flour
1/4 cup melted butter

• In a large bowl of a stand mixer, bloom yeast in warm water with a sprinkle of sugar
• Once yeast is bubbling, add remaining sugar, milk, egg and salt
• Add in flour gradually until the dough starts pulling away from the side of the bowl (for me this took just under 4 cups)
• Knead dough in mixer for 5 minutes
• Turn dough out onto floured surface and form into a ball and put into an oiled bowl. Cover with plastic wrap and let rise for an hour, or until doubled.
• Once dough is doubled in size, punch it down and turn out onto floured surface.
• Form dough into balls, and place on greased baking sheet. Cover and let rise 30 minutes. 
• Preheat griddle or cast-iron skillet to medium high heat
• Roll balls out into thinly, and put onto lightly greased griddle and cook for 1-2 minutes
• Before flipping, brush uncooked side with butter, then flip and cook until dark brown.
• Place cooked naan on a plate, covered with a tea towel to keep warm and prevent drying out

Pasta with Spinach and Butternut Squash Sauce

I discovered this recipe a few years ago when I was trying to look for healthy versions for a creamy pasta dish. At the time it was a foreign idea to use squash as a sauce, but I tried it and we really enjoyed it. Since then I've seen it all over the place. You can even buy butternut squash pasta sauces in a jar. I can promise you though, this is better than anything you could buy in a jar.

The original recipe calls for sausage, which I can imagine would be VERY delicious, but I obviously omitted it. It also calls for fresh sage leaves. I never have fresh herbs on hand and I never can justify the money in buying them for just one dish (remember, starving student mode here...) but by all means add it. I'm sure it's delicious. (Aside: this is probably what separates me from the REAL food bloggers and makes me a mediocre cook. Someday when finances are easier, maybe I will be able to fulfill my food blogging potential and splurge on the good stuff!)

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Pasta with Spinach and Butternut Squash Sauce
Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 30 minutes Servings: 5

Tip: Peeling a butternut squash is no fun. Here's how I've started to do it: poke the squash all over with a sharp knife and then stick it in the microwave for 7-9 minutes, let it cool and then it's soft enough to peel and seed easily. 

1lb butternut squash, peeled and diced (about the size of a medium squash)
2 TB butter
12 oz of pasta (rotini, bowtie, etc.)
1/2 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 cups baby spinach
1/4 cup parmesan cheese, grated
salt and pepper to taste

• In a large pot, bring salted water to boil
• Add butternut squash to water and boil until it is fork tender
• Remove squash from water with slotted spoon and place in blender and blend until smooth
• Add pasta to boiling water and cook according to package directions 
• While pasta boils, melt butter in large, deep skillet and saute onions and garlic until soft
• Add squash to onions and garlic and season with salt and pepper to taste
• Add baby spinach and parmesan cheese to sauce
• If sauce is a little thick, add some pasta water until it reaches your desired consistency
• Add cooked and drained pasta to sauce and mix until coated

Spinach Balls

(apology: I seriously tried to think of a different name for this recipe, but I couldn't do it. Spinach rounds was the closest I got, but didn't quite work. So I just stuck with spinach balls, which does not sound appetizing at all. But I promise, read on and you won't be disappointed. Also, I use the word "balls" a lot in this post...)

On a recent road trip our family stopped at Subway for lunch...probably for the fifth time this summer. Its really the only place that's vegetarian friendly and quick. Plus they're everywhere! Well, we go up to order and I place an order for a meatball sub. My husband gives me a weird side-look and moves on. He later told me he didn't know I liked meatball subs. I guess after 9 years of marriage, there's still LOTS we don't know about each other. But the truth is, yes, I do love me a good meatball sub. Maybe it's the bostonian inside of me? Not sure. But I just can't resist a perfectly seasoned meatball swimming in a lovely sauce topped with melted provolone on warm and chewy bread. Hmm so good.

Well that one meatball sub set off a craving for meatballs a few weeks ago. I wondered if I could make a delicious meatball myself at home. So I decided to make them for dinner one night and also make a vegetarian version for my husband. (I'm so nice, aren't I?) I found this recipe from My Kitchen is My Playground and thought I'd give it a try. I was skeptical, but they turned out awesome! I even liked them better than that actual meatballs I made. Turns out I can't make a decent meatball, but I sure can turn out some fantastic spinach balls.

The recipe makes a ton of balls, so I would suggest making the full recipe and then freezing the ones you don't eat for future meals or halving it. The picture above is from one of those freezer meals. I remembered I had some in the freezer and I stuck some in the oven to defrost and crisp up and we had them with some rotini. When my son (4) saw what we were having for dinner he was so excited and kept telling us how much he loves meatballs. He scarfed them down and asked for seconds. It wasn't until after we finished eating that we informed him that he had just eaten spinach balls. Surprisingly he was just fine with it and asked to have them again sometime. Mom for the win!

Ok, now on to the recipe. I didn't stray at all from Tracey's recipe. The only thing I changed was I made my balls just a bit bigger. I used my 1.5T cookie scoop to kind of evenly portion them out. To freeze them, let them cool off after baking and stick in a freezer bag in the freezer. Then you can pull out the amount you need for each meal.

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Spinach Balls
Prep time: 10 minutes Cook time: 20 minutes Servings: 6-8

Notes: not all stuffing mixes are vegetarian, but Pepperidge Farm is. 

2 10oz. packages frozen spinach
2 small onions, finely minced
2 1/4 cup herbed stuffing mix
6 eggs, beaten
1/2 cup melted butter
1/2 cup grated parmesan cheese
2 tsp. garlic salt
1 tsp black pepper

• Defrost and drain the spinach, making sure all the water is drained off
• In a large bowl, mix all ingredients until combined
• Form into desired sized balls and place on a greased cookie sheet 
• Bake at 350 F for 20-25 minutes or until balls are starting to brown and cooked through 
• Serve with your favorite pasta and sauce or as a lovely meatball sub alternative