Dal Palak

Hello boys and girls!

Welcome to cooking with Varun. The past few days here have whizzed by in an array of colours, loud music, tireless dancing to dhols, excellent food, spirits, and the company of friends. First, one of my best friends got married in true Indian fashion with functions spanning over 3 days (not counting a slightly bigger than little post dance-rehearsal dinner), the first of which was the mehendi, followed by the sangeet (where a privileged few were fortunate to bear witness to yours truly and his friends shaking his hips to 'Baby Doll'.. don't ask!) and finally the reception. 3 days of madness preceded by a week of choreographed dance rehearsals to celebrate the union of 2 of the nicest people you will ever meet. The bride (who shall, rather unfairly, be referred to from this point on as Bridezilla), was kind enough to give us a years notice and only threaten me with mild bodily harm if I did not make it to the wedding. There was tense week before the wedding when it looked like I might be required to fly back to the UK on an emergency requirement for a project, but Bridezilla, being the delightful person that she is, only punched me thrice in the stomach (as my friend who resembles Jesus had my arms pinned behind my back) in retaliation. Fortunately, it worked out such that I didn't have to go and I was spared from using crutches for the next few weeks because Bridezilla would no longer need to break my legs. The functions themselves were absolutely wonderful, with gorgeous food and drink, and we made a bunch of new friends, which included 3 very lovely Australian girls and 1 recently-introduced-to-amchoor Australian guy who plans to grill steaks marinaded in the stuff that has lovingly been branded as the 'fart powder'.

Soon after the wedding, was new years eve, which meant even more food and drink. After a raucous house party with about 20 other people (including a girl so beautiful I'm still kicking myself for forgetting to ask for her number) that went on until 4 am, was the dreaded hangover. As I lumbered around the house the following morning, sleepily eating leftovers, my mind kept going back to 2 things. One that I wanted copious amounts of dal chawal to soak up the alcohol in my system and two, the girl. Lady luck however, was probably still recovering from her own party, and I drew a zilch on both points.

Today's recipe is a variant of our traditional tadka dal, which apart from being mad delicious, if my memory serves me correctly, works just as well with hangovers. So the next time you plan to get sozzled, make a batch of this stuff and stick in the fridge for the morning after.

For Dal Palak, you will need the following:

Toor Dal                                 1 cup

Palak (spinach)                      300 gms

Dill                                         couple of handfuls

Onion                                     1 large

Tomato                                  1 large

Green chillies                         2-3

Ginger                                    1" piece

Garlic                                     3-4 cloves

Haldi (turmeric) powder        1 tsp

Red chilli powder                   2-3 tsp

Dhaniya (coriander) powder  2 tsp

Jeera (cumin) powder            1 tsp

Jeera                                      2 tsp

Tamarind pulp                        2-3 tsp

Salt                                         to taste

Oil

Prep:

1. Wash and roughly chop the spinach.
2. Wash and roughly chop the dill.
3. Slice the onion. (Thickishly.)
4. Chop the tomato.
5. Peel and julienne the ginger. (Basically cut it into straws.)
6. Chop the garlic.
7. Chop the chillies.
8. If you have the tamarind block instead of the ready pulp, tear off a handful and soak it in a cup of warm water. After a few minutes squeeze the piece to get the pulpy bits off into the water.

Method:

1. Grab a pressure cooker.
2. Plonk in the dal.
3. Rinse the dal 4-5 times with cold water until the water you pour away is cleanish.
4. Add water to the cooker until the dal is submerged about 3 fingers deep.
5. Splash in the onion.
6. Plop in the ginger.
7. Sprinkle in the haldi.
8. Add in 2 tsp of salt.
9. Stuff in the spinach.
10. Squeeze in the dill.
11. Shut the lid.
12. Turn on the gas.
13. Bung the pressure cooker on.
14. Crank the heat up to high.
15. Wait for 4 manly whistles. (And by manly, I mean proper loud whistles and not the half-hearted little squirts that cause water to come out the top and sizzle it's way down to the flame.)
16. Turn the gas off and wait for the steam to leave the pressure cooker. (Don't be the person that impatiently lifts the weight to manually let the steam out. Ever.)
17. While the steam is escaping, grab a pan.
18. Turn on a smaller burner.
19. Bung the pan on.
20. Splash in some oil.
21. Count to 20.
22. Pop in the jeera.
23. Roll in the chillies.
24. Toss in the garlic.
25. Deeply inhale the chilli ginger aroma and appreciatively go 'mmmm'.
26. Sprinkle in the red chilli, dhaniya and jeera powders.
27. Throw in the tomato and duck as all hell breaks loose with the oil spatter.
28. Cook until the tomatoes are soft and the oil has separated from the mixture.
29. Turn the gas off.
30. Pop open the pressure cooker and stir the contents.
31. Add a cup of water if required.
32. Turn on the pressure cooker burner.
33. Stir in the tomatoey contents of the pan.
34. Mix well and bring to a boil.
35. Add salt to taste. (You've got 2 tsp in already so do the taste test as you add it.)
36. Add in the tamarind paste/water to taste. (I like my Dal Palak tangy so I add more.)
37. Cook for a few minutes adjusting the consistency of the dal as desired.
38. Turn the gas off.
39. Serve with hot rice and crispy garlicky potatoes.
40. Stuff face.
41. Bask in the glory of your successfully executed dish.

Tip: Tossing in a handful of methi (fenugreek) leaves with the spinach and dill would not be the worst idea. Just saying.

And remember, overeating is a myth. A full tummy is a happy tummy!