TGIF: French-Indian Fusion!

I totally rocked dinner tonight. I don't mind saying so.

I made: French-Indian lentil stew on coconut-cardamom rice with carrot-ginger sauce.

It's a bit involved, but it's totally worth it and it makes a ton.

Start by taking one cup of shredded coconut (the sweetened kind in a bag is fine) and cover with boiling water. Let it sit for about fifteen minutes while you chop all of the veggies. (See below.) Then, put it into a blender and pulse a few times. It's fine if it doesn't fully incorporate; you want milky stuff and pulp. Put it into a strainer and press down on the pulp with a spoon to extract most of the liquid. Save the liquid and the pulp. Set them aside.

French-Indian Lentils

Make the lentils:

1. Make a mirepoix of 2/3 c. each of chopped celery, onion, and carrot. Heat 1 T. canola oil over medium heat in a large soup pot and add the mirepoix. Stir.

2. While that's heating up, mince about five cloves of garlic and grate 1-2 inches of ginger (no need to peel, but cut off any woody or shriveled bits). Put the garlic and the ginger in with the mirepoix, and stir well.

3. Add 1 1/2 T. cumin seeds (more if you're a fan of cumin), half a teaspoon of grated coriander, 1/4 t. cayenne, 1/4 t. turmeric, a few mustard seeds, and some black pepper. Stir well. It's going to stick. This is okay. Add a bay leaf. Cover with boiling water. Put on the lid and turn the heat up so the stew boils. Keep an eye on it. You might need to add more water as this cooks. You'll want the lentils to keep some bite, but be cooked through. It'll take around forty minutes.

4. Once the lentils are mostly cooked, add 1/4 c. of mild tandoori sauce (or more, if that's your desire). Remove the cover and let cook until nearly dry.

Coconut-Cardamom Rice

1 t. canola oil
1 pinch salt
1 cup jasmine rice
1 1/2 c. water
seeds from 5 cardamom pods

1.) Put everything into a saucepan and bring to a boil. Cover, turn the heat down, and let simmer until the rice is done.

2.) Fold in the coconut pulp. Keep warm.

Carrot-Ginger Sauce


1/8 c. onion, chopped
1 T. ginger, peeled and minced
1 or 2 cloves of garlic, crushed and peeled
1 c. carrots, peeled and cut into chunks (chop smaller to cook faster)
1 t. canola oil
1-2 T. Major Gray's chutney
boiling water

1.) Heat the oil over medium heat. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, and carrot. Stir until fragrant, but don't allow to brown. Cover generously with boiling water. Turn the heat up to boiling and cover.

2. Keep an eye on this and don't let it boil dry. When everything is mushy and there are only a few tablespoons of liquid left, put it into the blender and puree until soft. Pour in the liquid from your coconut and blend again.

Plating:

Dampen the inside of a ramekin and fill with rice. Pack firmly. Put a plate on top, then flip over carefully. You'll have a nice, neat little mound of coconut rice. Surround the rice with the carrot sauce. The sauce will be thick, so gently shake the plate to get it to spread out. Add a large scoop of the lentils.