Carrie's Birthday Dinner

Well hey. A year and a half later--after shift changes, job changes, and going back to school--I've found myself cooking a lot again. And I thought to myself "Hey. I used to do a blog for that." So here we are again.

Carrie's birthday was last week, and this was my birthday present to her: a homemade Indian dinner and a clean house.

PALAK DAL
(recipe from about.com)

Ingredients
1 cup chana dal (yellow lentils)
5 cups water
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
salt to taste
1 package frozen chopped spinach (10 ounces) or 1 bunch spinach chopped.
3 cloves garlic chopped
1 onion chopped
1 tomato chopped or 3 tablespoons tomato sauce
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 teaspoon chopped green chili
4 tablespoons lemon juice (I left this out, as I didn't have any on hand.)
2 teaspoons coriander powder
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
1/2 teaspoon red chili powder
cilantro to garnish

Method
1. Cook the dal in the 5 cups of water with turmeric and salt for 30 minutes. Add the spinach and cook until the spinach is tender and mixed with the lentils--about 35-50 minutes.
2. In a separate pan heat the oil, add the cumin seeds and as they pop add the onions. Brown the onions.
3. Add the garlic, tomatoes, green chili, coriander, garam masala, red chili powder, stir 2 minutes.
4. Add the daal and spinach and lemon juice, stir and heat through.
5. Garnish with cilantro and serve hot with pita or chapati or basmati rice.


KIRTI'S MOM'S ALOO GOBI*
(Recipe handed down to me from a friend of a friend.)

Ingredients
2 medium cauliflower heads (cubed)
4 medium potatoes (cubed)
13 cloves garlic
4 green chilies (Serrano or jalapeno) cut small
2 1/2 tbsp salt
1 tbsp tumeric
1 tbsp red chili powder
1 tbsp cumin seeds
3 small ginger root pieces

Method
1. Start with cold pan. Fry potatoes in a few tablespoons of oil until browned, stirring regularly, add cumin.
2. Grate ginger and garlic in to pan with potatoes.
3. Combine spices in to small bowl and add to potatoes.
4. Add cauliflower--stir until coated. Add more oil, if needed.
5. Cook covered on medium-high for 10 to 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
6. Turn to high, stir, cover, cook for 5 minutes.
7. Add chilies, cook uncovered for 15 to 20 more minutes, stirring occasionally.
8. Once dry, cook on lowest setting for 5 minutes. Serve warm.


VEGAN ORANGE CAKE
(recipe from earthvegan.blogspot.com)

Ingredients
1 1/2 cups whole-wheat pastry flour or all-purpose flour
1 cup sugar
1 tsp baking soda
1/2 tsp salt
1 cup minus 2 tbsp orange juice
2 tbsp Cointreau liqueur (I used Grand Mariner, as that's the orange liqueur I had on hand.)
1/3 cup vegetable oil
1 tbsp vinegar
1 tsp vanilla

Method
1. Mix together the wet ingredients and add to the dry. Stir until smooth.
2. Pour into a greased and floured 9 inch square cake pan.
3. Bake in a 350-degree oven for 30-35 minutes until a toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean.
4. Cool on a rack for 10 minutes, then slide a thin knife around the edges.
5. Gently remove the cake from the pan and continue cooling on a rack.

NOTES:
*I made HALF this recipe for dinner that night. Although Indian food refrigerates well and will last for a good week or so before getting weird, I wasn't sure that we needed quite that much food between three people. In the end, apparently, I probably could have made the full recipe.

VERDICT:
I was a little nervous about the palak dal, as it's actually not a dish I'd had before. But we had yellow lentils on hand and, more importantly, a bunch of spinach that needed to be used that day. It turned out really well, though, despite my lack of lemon juice. I ate it for three meals.

The aloo gobi was also a hit, as potatoes and cauliflower are among Carrie's favorite vegetables, and she'd never had it before. It was gone by the end of the next day.

The cake was amazing. I served it with frosting (store-bought whipped vanilla).

Will definitely make all of these dishes again.