Basic Dahl

Phillip and I have made this Dahl at least 3 times in the last 2 weeks. We ate it with bread twice (Phillip's favorite, like the South African "bunny chow") and we ate it with rice once. Soon, we hope to try some sort of naan-ish flat bread on our skillet.

• 1 T. sesame oil or, alternatively, olive or vegetable oil
• 1 cup finely chopped onion
• 2 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 1 T. finely chopped fresh ginger (or powder if you don't have fresh)
  
• 4 cups water or vegetable broth (we have used the little"maggi" cubes)
  
• 1 cup dried lentils, rinsed and picked over
• 1 t. cumin
• 1 t. coriander
• 1 t. tumeric
• ¼ t. cardamom
• ¼ t. cinnamon
• ¼ t. cayenne pepper
• 1 t. salt, or to taste (we don't use salt when using the maggi cube, those things are salty!)
  
• 2 T. tomato paste (not sure what you have in Uganda, but we use a whole one of those little 1 inch high tins of paste)

Heat up the oil. When its hot, put in the onion, garlic, and ginger.
Cook them until the onions are clear, stirring often.
Add the water or broth, lentils, spices and salt.
Bring to a low boil, then turn down the heat to low, cover and let the soup simmer for about 20 minutes, or until lentils are very tender.
Stir in the tomato paste. Cook several minutes more, or until the soup is desired temperature and consistency, adding more water to the dahl if needed.

One time we didn't have the paste, so we just left it out and added carrots to the mix. You can leave it more watery if you want it like soup, or let it get pretty dry. Its a great basic recipe to experiment with.

Justin's favorite vegetable soup

When I was just starting to experiment with cooking, I made this soup all the time. My family has a guy named Justin living with us, and this was his favorite thing I made.

It’s hard to write a recipe for it, because I change it every time I make it, and I never measure, but here is the general idea. Use what you have around, add and subtract as necessary.

Onions
Garlic
Carrots
Green peppers
Shredded cabbage
Can of diced tomatoes or tomato paste
Can of black beans, or a few handfuls of black beans that you pre soak
Vegetable or chicken stock
Cumin (lots)
Cayenne pepper
Black pepper
Olive oil
Lemon or lime juice (optional)
Cocoa (optional)

Sautee onions and garlic in olive oil in a big pot. Add soup stock. If you have a blender, blend up the can of diced tomatoes and some of the beans. This will give the soup some extra thickness. Put in all the spices, the tomatoes and the beans. Add the vegetables in shifts so they don’t get mushy. Add the cabbage only a few minutes before the soup is done. Let the soup simmer for a while. Add more spices as necessary. Sprinkle a little cheese on top if you have it. Make some garlic bread, and enjoy!

One Fine, Fall Day.

I think that we can all agree that FALL is one of the things most missed when in Uganda (or Rwanda). David, Ally, our new friend Lexi, and I decided to have a fall weekend... Filled with homemade pumpkin soup, caramel apple cider, and pumpkin pancakes :)

Pumpkin Soup Ingredients:

Pumpkin, of course

Olive Oil

Milk

Chilli Powder

Cumin

Sugar

Salt

Garlic

Vegetable or Chicken Stock

and Water

(The amounts are not exact, as we did not really follow a recipe. Just use your intuition and taste buds to make it delicious!!).

First, Cut and peel the pumpkin (we used a medium sized one... and it fed 6 people). Cut it into large cubes. Season with Chilli powder, drizzle with oil, and bake in the oven for about 20 minutes.

Remove from oven and combine the pumpkin, approximately 2 cups of milk, 3 cups of water, a couple teaspoons of the vegetable powder stock, cumin, chilli powder, a couple teaspoons of sugar, salt, and chopped garlic in a large pot. Bring to a boil and let boil for a few minutes. Turn heat down and let simmer for 10-15 minutes while stirring/mashing frequently. While cooking, the pumpkin should begin to fall apart. Mash/Mix until the mixture reaches a soup consistency (you can blend if you want it completely smooth).