Savory Indian Chili

I usually scrunch up my nose when I hear the word lentils. I've tried them a few times in the past when looking for a high protein, low fat type recipe and not had good results. Onetime I even made a lentil meatloaf thing that I undercooked and over-spiced so horribly that my family still talks about how bad it was.

Well, I saw a bag of little black shiny "beads" on the shelf at Whole Foods that were quite eye catching. I just had to find out what they were ... organic black beluga lentils. They did remind me of beluga caviar, so much so that I could just sense that rich mouth feel I remember so fondly. Hmmm, could something that looked so good be a bad thing? I just had to find out.

I found a good looking recipe for black lentils on About.com; it's a North Indian dish called Ma Ki Daal. I left out the oil and butter and substituted some ingredients for what I had on hand and the final product was absolutely delicious. It reminds me of chili but with a lively twist on the middle range of the spices.

This was an absolutely lovely introduction for me to Indian spices. Garam Masala rocks!

Savory Indian Chili Recipe

1 cup black lentils and 1/2 cup dried canelli beans, soaked overnight
6 cups veggie stock
2 medium onions, thinly sliced
1 jalapeño pepper, seeded, ribbed and finely chopped

2" piece of ginger, peeled and grated
2-3 cloves garlic, pressed or minced
1 15 ounce can whole tomatoes
1 Tbsp tomato paste

1 tsp garam masala*
1 tsp ground cumin
leaves from 4 or 5 thyme sprigs (no stems)
1/4 tsp cayenne powder
1 tsp freshly ground black pepper

long grain rice, to serve
creme fraiche, to garnish
thyme sprigs, to garnish

Bring 3 cups of veggie broth to a boil, add soaked lentils and beans, one of the onions and the jalapeño. Cook until lentils and beans are soft.

In a separate pan, heat 1/4 cup veggie stock to medium hot. Add onion and simmer until soft. Add ginger and garlic and continue to simmer until fragrant.

Drain the can of tomatoes and reserve the juice. Add the juice to the pan with the onions in it. Simmer hot enough to evaporate most of the water in the pan. Then crush each tomato with your hand into the pan. Remove any stems or yellow cores. Return heat to simmer. Add the tomato paste, garam marsala, cumin, thyme, cayenne and black pepper. Simmer for an additional 5 minutes.

Add the cooked lentils and beans to the onion mixture along with enough additional veggie stock to make a thin gravy-like broth; stir well.

Simmer at low heat, stirring occasionally, until broth thickens and the beans and lentils are very tender (30-60 minutes). The longer and lower the simmer the better the flavors meld.

Serve hot over long grain rice with a dollop of creme fraiche and a sprig of fresh thyme.

*Garam Masala Recipe
makes about 1/2 cup

1 (3 inch) cinnamon stick, broken into pieces
2 Tbsp black peppercorns
2 Tbsp coriander seeds
2 Tbsp black cardamom seeds
1 tsp whole cloves
1 tsp freshly grated nutmeg
1/2 tsp saffron threads

In a medium cast iron skillet, toast all ingredients except the nutmeg and saffron, stirring accasionally intil they are browned and aromatic (about 10 minutes). Cool and transfer to a mortar in batches and grind to a fine powder. Transfer to a small bowl as you go; once all spices are ground, stir in nutmeg and saffron. Store in an airtight container away from direct light in a cool, dry place. This will keep fresh for about 1 month, or about a year in the fridge.