Tuesday, September 03, 2019

Dhal & Rice on Vacation


The apartment’s kitchen is fully stocked with crockery, cutlery, pots and pans, and cleaning supplies, including a dishwasher, oven, microwave oven and a toaster. A supermarket run to stock the fridge and pile on kitchen towels and all, and we could use it for some decent cooking. Many nights, we ate in for dinner. Restaurants close early here. When produce is so fresh, it’s kind of a waste if we don’t cook, especially to grill those beautiful Australian grass-fed beef fillets.

Of course the man would need spices. He doesn’t do well without them. He wanted dhal and rice. His comfort foods. He saw the prices at the Indian restaurant for takeout and firmly refused to purchase dhal and rice from them. He really didn’t think they could cook it better than we could. The dal tadka for AUD14.50 was similarly priced to those we have at home, but I also doubted its taste or if it could even beat mine. Hahahaha. So we went to Coles to grab a few items to boil up a pot of lentils. The packets of spices available weren't comprehensive, but they would suffice. Found one that said... 'DAHL'. Hahaha. A fresh half pumpkin added so much flavor to the pot of dhal. It vastly improved the flavor of microwaved basmati rice. (I laughed so hard when the man mistook the Ikea tray for a chopping board. HOW?!)

Contemplated roasting a chicken, but Coles had roast chicken, and because it was late, it was on discount. That would be more convenient. It wouldn’t be the best, but it would do in a pinch. Cooking in this 15dC weather is soooo comfortable. Cleaning up is easy- prepping for a pot of dhal is not greasy or messy; everything went into the dishwasher after. It was a light dinner tonight for everyone. We’ve been eating so much that our stomachs need a break!

No comments: