I'm an American trying to learn to cook great Indian food for my Indian fiance. It's difficult getting authentic recipes since traditionally (as I've been told) Indian women do not keep written recipes the way American women do...it's all in memory. Is there a good cookbook or online site for authentic recipes? We eat mostly south Indian fare. Thanks!!

Mmmm i love dhal... check out this recipe the cilantro is key! Ingredients 3 tablespoons peanut oil 1 medium yellow onion 1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated 4 garlic cloves, minced 1 teaspoon salt 1 cup dried red lentils 2 tablespoon tomato paste 4-5 cups water or veg broth 5 plum tomatoes, chopped juice of 1 lime 1 cup lightly packed chopped fresh cilantro Spice blend 2 teaspoon mustard seeds 1 teaspoon fenugreek seeds 1 teaspoon coriander seeds 1 teaspoon cumin seeds 6 whole cloves 4 cardomom pods 2 dried red chilis (seeds removed) 1/4 teaspoon ground cinnamon Directions In a saute pan over medium heat, toast the seeds (but not the dried red chili) for about 5 minutes, stirring frequently. Remove from pan and let cool. Transfer to coffee grinder, aling with the dried red chili and cinnamon, and grind to a fine powder. Over medium-high heat oil a soup pot, add onions and saute for 5 minutes. Add garlic and ginger and saute 5 more minutes. Add spices and salt, saute 5 minutes more. Add 4 cups of water and stir to deglaze the pot. Add tomato paste and lentils. Bring to a boil then lower the heat a bit and simmer for 20 minutes. Add the tomatoes, lime juice and cilantro and more water if it looks to thick. Simmer 10 more minutes, or until lentils are completely tender.

Really Great Dhal Ingredients: 1 cup dry red lentils 3 cups water 1 diced onion 2-3 diced or crushed garlic cloves 1/2 peeled and chopped ginger root 1/2 can of chopped tomatos 2 tsps curry powder 1/4 teaspoon red chili powder 1 teaspoon ground cumin 1 teaspoon ground coriander 4-5 tablespoon cooking oil salt and pepper to taste Prep: Heat water in pot until boiling. Add lentils and boil for one minute. Reduce heat to a simmer. Simmer lentils until they resemble a thick paste. While lentils are simmering, heat oil in frying pan. Add onion, garlic and ginger. Fry until soft. Add curry, chili, cumin, coriander, salt and pepper, saute for 2-3 minutes. Add tomatos and saute for another 3-5 minutes. Add fried spice mixture into lentil paste, stir and cook an additional 15-20 minutes. Serve as is or over basmati rice. *Vegetable stock can be added to boiling water for additional taste. This is awesome! I find that adding steamed carrots and zucchini/courgettes (cut in rounds) near the end of cooking makes it a more complete healthy meal. These are really good soft and mushy. Served with brown rice - even better!

1 cup Split Red Lentil (Masoor Dal) 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi) 1 tsp Cumin Seed Powder (Jeera) 2 Green Chilli (Hari mirch) 2 Dry Red Chily (Saboot Lal Mirchi) 1 tsp chopped Ginger (Adrak) 2 Bay Leaf (Tej Patta) 10 gms Mixed Spices (onion seeds,fenugreek seeds,aniseeds,cuminseeds and mustard seeds) 2 tblsp Clarified Butter (Ghee) 1 tsp Sugar Salt to taste How to make arhar dal: * Wash the dal and cook the dal in a sauteuse with the turmeric, salt and the sugar over a medium flame. * Add half of the ginger to the dal along with the cumin powder. * When the dal is cooked and thick remove from the fire. * Heat the ghee in a pan and add the mixed spices,(a little of onion seeds, fenugreek seeds , aniseeds, cumin seeds and mustard seeds all mixed together). * When the mustard seeds crackle add the bay leaf, remaining chopped ginger , slit green chilliesand the broken red chillies. fry for 2 minutes and pour over the dal.mix thoroughly. serve hot.

Hi Silicon girl, let me help you on this since I am a south indian and am a very good cook too. The main thing for any south indian dal (sambhar as we call it) is the masala that we use in it, which is ready made available in the malls in your town. Ask for Sambhar Masala. As far as the cook goes, its like this. Take about 200 gms of channa dal and cook it in a cooker (4 whistles) Now take a vessel and pour this cooked dal in it and place it on the gas (low/slow). Add to it the small onions and potato. Add 1 small spoon of turmeric powder, salt to taste, 1 tsp chilly powder, 2 tsp of Sambhar Masala, a small piece of Gaggary and in another vessel take some tamrind and get its juice by hand and add this tamring water to the above mixture. Now in a small iron vessel add 3 spoon full of ghee, rai, jeera, hing powder, limda leaves, corriander leaves and heat on the gas. When you start hearing noises, pour this in the above vessel where the dal or sambhar is cooking. Boil for a few more minutes and serve it with plain rice. Let me know how you liked it.

Hey there are hundreds of indian food blogs out there. My personal favourite www.nandyala.org/mahanandi Go to the above site...and from there you can find many links to other indian food blogs. There they give recipes with photos ...so it will be very helpful to you. Enjoy cooking.

Go to google and type.... receipes - southindian. U will be flooded with receipes. Happy cooking !!!!!!!!!

recipe for 4 persons---tastes great!! toor dal-1 cup --soaked for half hour onions chopped---half cup ginger finely chopped--1 tspn garlic chopped--1tspn tomato chopped--half cup curry leaves 8-10 mustard seeds 1tspn cumin-1 tspn turmeric pdr-1tspn red chillies whole-3-4 red chilly pdr-1/2 tspn pure ghee--1 tbspn tamarind pulp--1 tbspn hing powder(asofotida)-a pinch method--- boil dal with 4 cups of water along with salt ,turmeric ,and tomatoes. once cooked keep aside.in another pan add ghee, then add hing pdr,whole chillies, after that add mustard seeds, cumin.once they splutter add curry leaves annd chopped garlic.then add ginger and onions and fry till slightly golden.add chiily pdr and then pour the dal.bring to boil adding tamarind pulp.once ready garnish with fresh coriander leaves and enjoy with staemed rice.

Hi! Perhaps what you need to know are typical south indian recipes which are pertinent to the state from where your fiance is from. (If he is a south indian, that is). Dhal is typically not a south indian dish. There are many southindian recipes which incorporate various lentils in them. I would suggest you do a specific recipe search relevant to the region from where you want the dishes on the web. There are plenty of websites and forums out there! All the best.

http://allrecipes.com/Search/Recipes-Advanced.aspx?ST=All&Cuis=59&SortBy=Rating&Direction=Descending check this web site, i promise you won't be disappointed.

Mixed Dhal: 1½ hours 10 min prep 8 servings 4 tablespoons ghee (I used 2 tbsp butter and 2 tbsp vegetable oil) 2 medium onions, chopped finely 2 garlic cloves, crushed 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger 1 fresh green chile, finely chopped (de-seeded, if desired, for less heat) 1 1/2 tablespoons black mustard seeds 1 1/2 tablespoons ground cumin 1 1/2 tablespoons ground coriander 2 teaspoons ground turmeric 1/4 teaspoon asafetida powder (optional) 5 ounces toor dal 5 ounces Urad Dal 5 ounces mung dal 5 ounces channa dal 2 (14 1/2 ounce) cans peeled crushed tomatoes 4 cups chicken stock or beef stock or vegetable stock 2/3 cup coconut cream 1/4 cup coarsely chopped cilantro 1. Mix the lentils together in a large bowl and wash in several changes of water. 2. Heat the ghee in a large, heavy-based, preferably non-stick saucepan, and add the onion, garlic, ginger and chili. 3. Cook, stirring, until onion is soft, and starting to brown. 4. Add the seeds and powdered spices, and cook, stirring until fragrant. 5. Add the lentils along with the undrained tomatoes and stock, and stir to combine. 6. Bring to the boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for about one hour, stirring occasionally, until lentils are tender. 7. Add small amounts of water from time to time if the mixture appears to be sticking, or is too thick before the lentils soften. 8. Add the coconut cream and cilantro just before serving, stirring and heating through over low heat.

Easy cook in just 15 mins. Ingredients: 2 cups of thoor dhal 2 to 3 medium size onions 1 or 1 ½ of garlic coriander leaves curry leave sambar powder chilli powder menthiya powder jeera powder 2-3 medium tomatoes. Oil as u wish mustard seeds. Tamarind soaked in a water Method: 1.Add thoor dhal, onion chopped, garlic chopped, tomoto puree, 2 -3 curry leaves, ½ tsp oil, add 2 tsp of chilli powder, ½ tsp of turmeric powder, 2 tsp of sambar powder, little jeera powder, little menthiya powder and add water to it and keep for 3-4 whistle in a pressure cooker. 2.Once it is cooked take the water out of the contain and smash it, and add little tamarind water in the dhal. And keep aside. 3.now keep a pan in the stove add oil as u wish, chopped little onions and put it add mustard and curry leaves to it once it is pinkish or golden brown in color then add this into the dhal. Lastly salt to taste. Your dhal is ready. 4.after all this keep it in the simmer for 5 – 10mins for much more taste.

Ingredients: 1 cup Split Red Lentil (Masoor Dal) 1/2 tsp Turmeric Powder (Haldi) 1 tsp Cumin Seed Powder (Jeera) 2 Green Chilli (Hari mirch) 2 Dry Red Chily (Saboot Lal Mirchi) 1 tsp chopped Ginger (Adrak) 2 Bay Leaf (Tej Patta) 10 gms Mixed Spices (onion seeds,fenugreek seeds,aniseeds,cuminseeds and mustard seeds) 2 tblsp Clarified Butter (Ghee) 1 tsp Sugar Salt to taste How to make arhar dal: Wash the dal and cook the dal in a sauteuse with the turmeric, salt and the sugar over a medium flame. Add half of the ginger to the dal along with the cumin powder. When the dal is cooked and thick remove from the fire. Heat the ghee in a pan and add the mixed spices,(a little of onion seeds, fenugreek seeds , aniseeds, cumin seeds and mustard seeds all mixed together). When the mustard seeds crackle add the bay leaf, remaining chopped ginger , slit green chilliesand the broken red chillies. fry for 2 minutes and pour over the dal.mix thoroughly. serve hot. Ingredients: 1 cup chana daal 7 cup water 1 tsp salt 1/4 tsp cayenne 1/4 tsp turmeric powder 1/4 tsp cumin powder 1/4 tsp corriander powder 1 tblsp tamarind pulp 1 tsp sugar 1 tblsp vegetable oil 1/4 tsp black mustard seeds 1 chopped garlic clove Preparation: Soak the chana daal in 4 cup water for 2-3 hours then wash and drain. Boil 3 cups water and the salt in a pan. Add the chana dal, cover the pan and cook over medium flame for 30 min. Stir the dal when cooked. Add cayenne, turmeric, cumin, coriander, sugar the tamarind pulp (skin & seeds removed). Stir well and allow to simmer uncovered. In a separate frying pan, heat the vegetble oil over low heat and add the mustard seeds and chopped garlic to it. When the oil gets hot, add the oil mixture to the simmering pot of dal. Immediately cover the pot and keep covered for 2 min. while the dal continues to simmer. Cook chana daal uncovered for another 5 min. and the dal is ready to be served with rice or bread. Ingredients: 1 cup whole urad daal (urad sabut) 1tbsp Red kidney beans (Rajma) 1 onion finely chopped 1 tomato finely chopped 1" Ginger piece 2-3 green chilies finely chopped chopped coriander leaves 4-5 flakes Garlic paste 1/2 cup stirred curd 1/2 cup fresh stirred cream (malai) 2tbsp butter 1tsp cumin seeds (jeera) 1/2tsp turmeric powder 1/2tsp Garam masala Red chili powder to taste 1/2tsp dhania powder Salt to taste How to make dal makhni : Soak rajma in water overnight. Add water & little salt and pressure-cook Rajma and urad daal till soft for about 20-25 minutes. Mash and boil again for 15-20 minutes and add curd and cream to the daal. Now in kadhai heat oil, splutter cumin seeds and add garlic paste, fry till light brown. Add onions and fry till golden brown. Now add ginger, green chilies and tomatoes and fry till tomatoes soften. Now add dry masalas (turmeric powder, chili powder, dhania powder & salt) and fry again for a moment. Add daal and stir on medium flame. As soon as it starts boiling remove from the gas. Sprinkle garam masala powder and garnish daal makhni with coriander and add butter. Serve daal makhni hot. Goes well with laccha paratha, naan or rice.

Try the following link, http://www.tarladalal.com/RecipeDetail.asp?rec=1&id=13 Tarla dalal is one of the best sheffs in india. you can also buy the cook books available on this wesite. hope it helps