I have way too many grains. When I moved into my current apartment, quite a few of my moving boxes were taken up by my pantry food. Yes, I moved my food. Is that weird? There are also things that made the move that went from my old freezer to my new freezer.
I have a hard time throwing things out, if you couldn't tell.
A few years ago, I went through a period of buying every single unidentifiable grain that I could find in stores, from Trader Joe's to tiny Indian markets.
It's time to clean out my pantry of all the couscous (whole wheat and white), moong dal, black azuki beans, whole green lentils, Sri Lankan red rice, millet and barley. Because if I don't find recipes for them now, I never will.
Moong Dal requires a rather long cooking time, probably about an hour or so. Might make a good plan ahead meal in a slow cooker.
- Moong dal tadka from Veg Recipes of India. A simple recipe of moong dal, tomato, onion and spices.
- Buttery moong dal from the New York Times. A similar recipe, but without the tomato.
Sri Lankan red rice uses a 1:1.5 ratio of rice to water. What I was really craving when I bought this was my amma's beetroot rice, but I got the red rice, even though I knew it was different. I might try making beetroot rice with the red rice and see if it turns out any good.
- Beetroot rice recipe that calls for basmati, but I'll try it with red rice instead. Will need to substitute some ingredients, like sambar powder and biryani masala. Mostly calls for a tomato, onion, beets (obviously), and spices.
- Another beetroot rice recipe, but it calls for chicken and coconut milk and no tomato.
Black azuki beans that I had no idea were azuki beans!! Randomly bought them at an Indian grocery because I thought they were... well, honestly I had no idea what they were. I just bought them. And now I am pleasantly surprised to find out that they are azuki beans. At least I think they are. I'm going to cook them tonight and find out!
- Osekihan
Whole green lentils were perhaps the most boring prospect in my cupboard, but I think they're turning out to be the most exciting!
- Persian lentil salad sounds refreshing and crisp. Simple too!
- Sprouted lentils used to be the bane of my existence as a kid. I would open the oven door and find a jar of lentils, sprouting. I would open the cupboard the week after and find a different jar. Then I would go to load the dishwasher and there was another jar. LENTILS EVERYYYWHERRRRRRE. It drove me crazy. I thought they were disgusting and slightly repulsive, especially the way they would grow in the dark. It would have been much more exciting if my mom had hid Nabisco snacks in our oven, dishwasher and cupboards, but of course she never would have done that. Interestingly enough, I've totally come around to lentils (and find Nabisco snacks repulsive), but I attribute it to eating delicious, warm and satisfying dal in Sri Lanka, not my mother... However, it is something we have in common now, which brings the grand total to 1. I might try a combination of the sprouted lentils in the Persian lentil salad! Now that sounds delicious.
I'm still looking for recipes for the millet, barley and brown rice mix.
No comments:
Post a Comment