Friday, January 9, 2009

Kumaon Food - Ras-Bhath

Madua ki Roti, Pahadi Nimbu and Kumaoni Spices

Ras-bhath
Serves 4
The key to making this is to have a source of very low heat that can be left on all night. This extracts every last vestige of taste from the lentils.
Ingredients:
25g chickpeas or kala chana
25g ghaut (kulthi dal or horse gram, available at grain or health food stores)
25g rajma
25g lobia (black-eyed beans)
25g whole urad (black lentil)
1 tsp chopped garlic
2 green chillies, chopped
1 small onion, chopped
1tsp cumin seeds, coarsely pounded
Method:
Wash the lentils till the water runs clear. Set it to cook with plenty of water in a large vessel—for most urbanites, a pressure cooker would have to do, but in Kumaon a saucepan would be used. Bring to the boil on a high fire and then simmer for several hours, making sure the water level remains generous. If you are making it in a pressure cooker, after the first whistle, turn the gas burner down to the minimum and cook for at least 2 hours.
You should end up with a slightly thick liquid. Strain the liquid from the dal (the mashed-to-death dal is fed to cows in Kumaon). Fry onion, garlic, chillies and cumin seeds, add to the liquid and simmer for 5 minutes for the flavours to unravel. Serve in a bowl with steaming rice. The combination should have a porridge-like consistency.

Source: http://www.livemint.com/2009/01/09220910/Kumaon-comfort.html?h=B

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