This afternoon, we had a late lunch of Tadka Dal - a mildly spiced lentil and tomato dish served over hot basmati rice with fresh cilantro on top. Delicious, especially when served with home made naan bread.
We have had two sterling Indian recipe books languishing on the bookshelf for several years. Inspired by the description of family gatherings and meals in IndoAmerican novels I have read recently, and remembering great Indian meals we have had in the past, I have taken up Indian cooking as a hobby.
There is an Indian grocer on Robie Street in Halifax who has been able to supply me with everything from green cardamom pods to asafetida, fenugeek seeds, atta flour, and chana dal. I don't think he had a lot of confidence in my ability to pull off that first big meal as he smiled broadly all the time I asked about the various recipe ingredients that I needed, and cheerily called out "Good Luck!" when I left the store.
We have, in fact, had some great dishes though they tend to lean a tad more, I suspect, toward the British influenced Indian meals. However, exploring that vast subcontinent region by region, dish by dish, will be a great way to spend the winter of 2008/2009.
Y'all come now.
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