Posted on: Wednesday, June 29, 2005
SEVEN OR LESS
Enjoying red lentils from movie locations
By Barbara Hansen
Los Angeles Times
I loved Ismail Merchant's lyrical films, and I loved even more the freewheeling way he cooked, injecting a little of India into dishes that were essentially European and vice versa. And no one could light up a kitchen as he did, laughing and chatting exuberantly as he put together an excellent impromptu dinner from whatever ingredients were on hand.
Merchant, the voluble half of Merchant Ivory Productions, is best known for collaborating with director James Ivory on such notable films as "The Remains of the Day," "Howards End" and "A Room With a View."
Here's one of his simpler recipes. It's called Location Dal because it was a dish he liked to prepare for movie casts on the road — a basic dish of boiled red lentils to which Merchant added tomato and onion sauteed in olive oil, turmeric and salt. For this, you need imported lentils. Use split red lentils, which are available in specialty foods sections of some grocery stores.
LOCATION DAL
Place lentils and water in a medium saucepan over medium-high heat and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook, partially covered, until tender, about 18 to 20 minutes. Do not drain.
Heat the olive oil in a medium saute pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook until soft and pale golden, about 5 to 7 minutes. Add the tomatoes, salt and turmeric. Cook until the tomatoes soften.
Stir the tomato mixture into the dal. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for 10 minutes. Makes 3 1/4 cups. Serves 6. • Per serving: 216 calories; 10 grams protein; 25 grams carbohydrates; 6 grams fiber; 9 grams fat; 1 gram saturated fat; 0 cholesterol; 500 milligrams sodium. Variations: Add 1 cup of long-grain rice and an additional cup of water together with the lentils. A good-quality plain yogurt, with or without a little mint stirred in, makes a nice "sauce" for this dish.
