Pongal for One

Today I came home, dead tired, to see that my little hyacinths had opened!  They had turned colors and begun to spread apart this morning, but no hint yet of a bloom.  The woman at the Borough Market said it would take them 3 weeks or so, but I guess they like my warm, damp room.  (I learned that the bulbs could be stored in a dark, dry place until next year when they will bloom again)

Readers, I made the most delicious dinner!  I'm so glad I stopped by the grocery store just to get some fresh spinach and tomatoes, everything else I had in my pantry which I keep very well-stocked with staples.  It was really simple, pongal, a mixture of rice and lentils, with sauteed spinach and tomatoes.  This is becoming my standard dinner, what I crave around 2:30 in the afternoon.

Pongal for one

Takes 20 minutes

Makes 1 serving

butter

1/4 tsp. cumin seeds

1/8 tsp. ground black pepper

little bit of ginger

1/4 cup rice

1/4 cup masoor dal

salt

3 small cloves garlic

1/4 tsp. mustard seeds

1/2 chili, sliced lengthwise

2 big handfuls of fresh spinach, washed well

4 or 5 cherry tomatoes, halved

In a sauce pan, heat butter on low-medium low heat.  Decide the size of butter depending on what kind of day it was.  Mine was a 1/2 tbsp. day: I really needed the butter.  Otherwise, I would have used half that amount with some safflower or canola oil.  You do not want the heat to be too high because the butter will burn, but if it's too low, nothing will sizzle.

When the butter is melted, add cumin seeds, pepper and ginger.  When cumin seeds begin really sizzling and everything is very fragrant, add rice and dal, and saute for a minute.  It's ok if the butter is browning because that makes everything taste better.

Add 1 1/2 cups of water and salt to taste.  Bring to a boil, lower heat and cover for 15 minutes.

While the pongal is cooking, heat a little bit of oil in a small saute pan on medium high heat.  Add the garlic, chili and mustard seeds.  Be ready with the spinach!  When the mustard seeds begin popping, add spinach and tomatoes to the pan.  Add salt and saute for 1 minute or until spinach is soft and tomatoes are beginning to shrivel.

Eat!  With pickles or yoghurt or just by itself.  It was so good!

Thakkali saddam means tomato rice

I wanted to share my mom's recipe for tomato rice, thakkali saddam.  This was a favorite recipe for special occasions when we were growing up.  The rice is deliciously flavored with tomato, cinnamon and other spices, so all you need to eat it with is some yoghurt, or some really simple greens or a salad.

I think this would be great with a long grain brown rice.  I haven't tried that, but I assume it would just need a little bit more water.

I'm leaving her directions as is, but I'll write an ingredient list.

Thakkali Saddam

Makes 6 Servings

Takes 2 hours

2 cups Basmati or Jasmine Rice

3 large onions

5 or 6 large ripe tomatoes

2 green chilies

1 inch piece of ginger

5 or 6 garlic pods

canola oil

2 sticks cinnamon

2 bay leaves

10 cloves

2 tsp. fennel seeds

1 tsp. lime juice

big handful of mint

1) Soak 2 cups Basmati rice for 30 minutes or so.   

2) Cut 3 large onion (thinly sliced or chopped)

3) Chop 5 to 6 large ripe tomatoes (if roma tomatoes may be 12)

4) Chop 2 green chilies, grate ginger and grate 5 or 6 garlic pods.  5) In 6qt or 8 qt vessel, add 5 or 6 tsp of veg/canola oil

6) Add 1 or 2 stick of cinnamon, 1 or 2 bay leaves (if available), 8 or 10 cloves, and 2 tsp fennel seeds.  Fry for a minute or so.

7) Add chopped onions and fry well.

8) Add chopped tomatoes and fry well till it becomes smooth paste (use masher to mash it well). If needed, add more oil.

9) Add ginger and garlic. Fry

10) Add salt and chilly powder if needed.

11) Drain water from rice and add rice to the tomato gravy. Fry for 1 or 2 minutes. Add 2 cups of water (if tomato sauce is liquidy, add less water)

12) Lower heat and cover the pot and put the timer for 20 minutes.

13) Let it cool for an hour. With fork fluff the rice, add salt if needed and add 1 tsp of lime juice if not tart. Mix and move it to a serving bowl.

14) Garnish with mint leaves if available. If not it is okay. Sometime the bottom may be burnt if there is not much oil. Discard that rice from the bottom layer. 

She's crazy with that last instruction.  The Crispy bits on the bottom are the best part!

One last Happy Diwali to you all!  Sad as I was to not have old friends with me this year on Diwali, our new friends here in Halifax added their own enthusiasms and we had a really nice evening.

Thanks to Jaymie and Ken for some new pictures!