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Wednesday, February 17, 2010

Onion Lentil Snack and Potato Curry (Bangladesh)

First of all I have some great news.  Know that fantastic Peanut Soup I talked about a few days ago?  Well, I have permission to post the recipe!  So, head on back to that entry and make some fantastic Peanut Soup (compliments of the Mennonite Central Committee who publish the fantastic line of World Community Cookbooks)!
Staples in Bangladesh include rice and lentils (dal or daal), especially red lentils (according to Bangladeshi Recipes).  Bangladeshi Recipes, also, states that these are commonly used:  mung beans, ripe coconut, mustard oil and paste.  Fish are a major source of protein.  From Wikipedia: "As a large percentage of the land (over 80% on some occasions) can be under water, either intentionally because of farming practices or due to severe climatological, topographical or geographical conditions, not surprisingly fish features as the major source of protein in the Bangladeshi diet. There is also a saying which goes, "Mach-e-Bhat-e-Bangali" (Fish and rice make a Bengali)."  Beef is also very common.  You might find this 'common to region' information interesting (also from Wikipedia):
South - sea fish and coconut milk
Dhaka - fried rice and lot of meat (biriani)
West and NW - Vegetable curries, heavily spiced food and river fish
NE - lake fish, fruit, and pickles
Most important spices: ginger, garlic, coriander, cumin, turmeric and chili.
For sweet dishes: cardomom and cinnamon. 

This meal:  I really enjoyed the Potato Curry.  The book recommends serving crisp, brown onions on top, which was a fantastic suggestion!  I would not recommend serving it on rice, however.  It was too dry for that.  I think, like the book recommends, that it would be a good idea to serve it with a juicier dish (which you could serve on rice if you wanted).  I wasn't a huge fan of the Onion Lentil snack, but I haven't really developed a taste for lentils.  Perhaps I will work to develop a lentil treat I like ;)

Potato Curry or Alu Torkari
1 large onion, thinly sliced
1 med. onion, diced
4 garlic cloves, minced
12-14 oz. tomatoes
1 t. garam masala
1 t. tumeric
1/2 t. red pepper flakes
1 T. dry parsley
1 T. lemon juice (we used lime because we are out of lemon)
4 potatoes, cubed
1/4-1/3 c. water

Fry the thinly sliced onion in oil until brown and crisp, then set aside.  Fry onion and garlic until soft (about 3 min.).  Add tomatoes and spices and fry until tomatoes are soft (3-5 min.).  Add everything else, cover loosely and simmer.  Be sure to stir ovvasionally and continue until sauce is thick and potatoes are tender.  Garnish with onions.

For more food from Bangladesh, try these sites:
BangaliNet
Bangladesh.com
Bangladeshi Food and Recipes
Bangladeshi Recipes
Khanapinaa
Sify Food - Indian Food

10 comments:

Applebys Hidden Treasures said...

The potato curry looks good! Might have to try that this weekend!

two vegan boys said...

Wow Bangladesh. The curry looks terrific.

Michal said...

Wow this looks terrific! :)

Kelly said...

What a yummy looking dish--I love a good curry!

fiddlewitch said...

bangladesh says grameen bank to me, as well as some yummy vegan food. if you don't know about grameen, read and celebrate the success of a good idea that puts heart WAY ahead of wallet..

http://www.grameen-info.org/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=19&Itemid=114

River - The Crafty Kook said...

Oh my! The crisp brown onions on top really look fantastic! My eyes were automatically glued to those onions as I was scrolling through google reader. Thank you for the recipe! :)

Anonymous said...

I love potato curry and this looks like a good recipe to try out. It's making me wish I'd made it for dinner instead of a tofu dish... Oh, well... As Scarlet O'Hara said, 'Tomorrow is another day!'

Melisser; the Urban Housewife said...

Mmm, I love curry!

Cassie - Vegan Fox said...

Thanks for all of the wonderful comments! I promise it was quite tasty, the onions were definitely a worthwhile addition :)

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