Culinary Around the World in a Day (well, almost.)

I love Indian food. Anyone who knows me, knows this about me. BONUS; a large variety of dishes are gluten and dairy free! SCORE! However. I have this weakness, this soft spot in my heart... for naan. Naan, glorious naan. Sauce sopping, curry scooping, edible little spoon... I love you. It's that chewy texture that gets me every time. Whoops! I just drooled a little, excuse me.  Enter- a gluten-free naan recipe! I found it on the web, and it is SPECTACULAR! It's from artisanbreadinfive.com. Truly, truly delicious and a keeper in my book. I can't thank them enough! I did slightly change the recipe as I usually do- I cooked the naan in coconut oil instead of ghee. I used cetrifugated oil which retains that lovely coco-nutty-ness. As opposed to the expeller pressed which really doesn't have much of a flavor at all. You can find the technique and link to the dough recipe here:

http://www.artisanbreadinfive.com/2010/01/18/gluten-free-naan-and-an-update-on-freezing-the-dough


Masoor Dal Recipe

This is my own sort of fusion between two different recipes, a standard masoor dal recipe, and a Gujarati dal recipe.

2c. masoor dal (small red -though really more orange in color- lentil found in the bulk foods section)
1/3c. oil
1t. mustard seeds
1/4-1/2t. red chili flake
a pinch asafetida (hing)
7-8 curry leaves
2t. garam masala
1t. ground coriander
1/2t. turmeric powder
1t. salt
2t. organic evaporated cane juice
1 onion, chopped
1 (1 inch piece) ginger root, grated
2 tomatoes, chopped
1 handful fresh coriander (cilantro), washed and roughly chopped

Rinse the dal thoroughly. In a pot bring 1 quart of water to the boil, add the dal. Cook for about 10-15 minutes.

In a high sided pan (with a lid) over medium heat, add oil and mustard seeds. The mustard seeds will pop and sputter.

Once this has stopped, add the chili flake, asafetida, curry leaves, onion, ginger, ground coriander, masala, turmeric, salt and sugar. Stir well and let cook until onions are softened.

Add tomatoes and cook until softening and breaking down a little.

Add in the cooked dal, stir to combine the flavors.

Test for flavoring, adding more salt if needed.

Top with fresh coriander, serve with gluten-free (or regular) naan bread. Enjoy!

On the very same day I tried my hand at a Moroccan Chicken Tagine. Now normally I wouldn't tax myself quite so much all at once, but for some reason this was calling my name. The tagine itself did not wind up being particularly blog-worthy, but the sauce was really good.

2/3c. orange juice
1/4c. honey
1 red onion, sliced thinly
1 lemon, quartered

I don't know why, but I could just see this reduced down into a syrupy glaze. Something about this demands further investigation. And I intend to. I'll keep ya posted.