dhal curry

Yesterday i decided to cook dhal curry after a long period of not cooking. theres no exact reason why i decide on  dhal though. just want to eat some indian themed food. besides i already bought lentils in advance. after watching 2 videos of making dhal curry here goes my attempt. oh i've made an attempt for dhal curry few years ago. it was edible but the quality is below par. i blended the beans nad used too much of them for my consumption alone. it ended like a thick broth. not gonna repeat the same mistake again. since i know theres a possibility that my parents wont eat this as im planning to make it a bit spicier, i decided to make a small portion only enough for one meal. my parents cant tolerate spicy food as much as me. 

ingredients are as below:

-150mg of lentils it is

-3 dried chilli (theyre are spicier than normal dried chilli. dont know where we bought this batch of chillies)

-some cili padi i dont remember how much i just pluck them to my liking from my backyard. just count them in the picture

-1 bulb of onion

-a splash of cumin (jintan putih) i just pour a bit of them in the pan. probably a teaspoon amount

-vindaloo curry powder (around 2 teaspoon i think. i just poured them) this curry powder is made to be spicier compared to other curry mixpowder. and the smell is good too

-butter (i just put 1 chunk of spoonful of butter)

-1 cinnamon stick

a bowl of meat

-1 lime (limau kasturi)

-tumeric (i used tumeric powder and 1cm of fresh tumeric the size of my pinky finger just because i have it in my backyard)

- salt

note that i dont have proper measurement for the ingredients as im too lazy to measure things just like any other malaysian. agak-agak is the key. i only measure lentils because i bought a small weighing scale for my mum few months ago and i just want to try it. i only watch the videos to see how they cook it and the ingredients used for the cooking. didnt use tomatoes because i forgot to add them in.

smash those chillies to paste. mortar and pestles > blender

wash and toss the lentils, boil em in potand simmer until soft. skim the scum made during boiling. add some tumeric powder and salt. i used 1 teaspoon of salt and 1 teaspoon of tumeric powder. adding them will make the water not boiling over the pot when you cover it with lid. keep on adding water if it started to become dry during the process. it took me almost an hour to soften the lentils. use pressure cooker next time to hasten the process or soak them early on. 

on side note, the boiled lentils tasted like kacang kuda that we used to buy in rnr. yummeh

cumin, vindaloo curry powder and meat (i have a bowl of leftover meat that i stir fried with carrot cubes, oyster sauce and soy sauce. so might as well use them rather than let them turn bad)

firstly melt the butter over low heat. dont wanna burn it. boiling point is way lower compared to other vegetable oil. id prefer to use ghee but dont have it for now. then add cumin, cinnamon stick and chillies followed by curry powder after 1 minute. slice the onion however you like or you can even cube them. sautee them together oh you can use big flame when you start sauteeing. add the fresh finely chopped tumeric. missing here are the garlic and ginger. theyre unavailable in my kitchen currently. 

onion soft enoughand well cooked. time to add the meat. tomatoes are supposed to be added here too. continue sauteeing and stir frying like a pro. 

add the soft, boiled lentils into the misxture and add a bit of water to let them mix together. i put too much water though. gotta simmer it extra long to get rid of the excess water.

squeeze some lime juice into the mixture. i use a flour sifter to filter the lime seeds. lel. 

stirring to remove the water faster. you can make it thick or watery based on your preferences. i dont use corn starch or thickening agents because i dont want the volume to be high.

taadaa the result after thickening the curry using water reduction. the lentils are soft but still intact which make it better compared to blended lentils.

the curry was a success. my parents tried and they like it. thumbs up from them. yeap it was finished clean eaten together with a roti canai. guess it isnt that spicy. the amount of chillies can added more. i can try to make it again spicier next time.

oh if you want to make a vegetarian version just switch the butter with vegetable oil and the meat can be substituted with mushrooms. to provide the umami flavour. personally i always go for the king oyster mushroom as meat substitute. its not that expensive and it gives the springiness like meat when eaten. just cut them to small cubes and people will think theyre eating meat.