"Make your Indian co-workers jealous" lentil recipe

The secret to these lentils is in the sauce, and in not watering it down too much. Substitute your favorite Indian curry paste if you can't find Patak's (pictured below).



Ingredients:
2 cups water
1/2 cup lentils
3-4 cloves garlic
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
2 tablespoons olive oil
1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes
2 heaping tablespoons of hot indian curry paste
fresh cilantro

1. Bring 2 cups of water to a boil. Add garlic.
2. Rinse 1/2 cup of lentils.
3. Add lentils to boiling water and cook over low-medium heat for about half an hour, or until most of the water is absorbed and the lentils are getting nice and soft.
4. Meanwhile, fry 1 chopped onion in olive oil.
5. Add 2 heaping tablespoons of curry paste and stir.
6. Immediately add 1 14-oz can of diced tomatoes and stir together
7. Let the tomatoes, onion, and curry paste simmer for a little while.
8. When lentils are beginning to burst, add tomato mixture to the pot and stir. Let sit for a few minutes so the lentils can absorb the awesome curry flavor
9. Top with fresh cilantro and serve with basmati rice, and/or naan.

Pico de gallo

This is a very basic, simple, easy-to-make fresh accompaniment to traditional mexican food. It is not, strictly speaking, a salsa, since salsa means sauce and this is not a liquid. It makes an excellent topping for simple authentic tacos (no iceberg lettuce or sour cream), goes great with high-quality corn tortilla chips, and you can stir some into a bowl of crushed avocadoes for an authentic guacamole. Note that if served with chips, this will disappear quickly, so set some aside for the main course if necessary. Other ideas: mix with canned tuna or pre-cooked shrimp for what I call poor-man's seviche, or mixed with canned or pre-cooked beans for a delicious cold bean salad.


Ingredients: (adjust proportions according to your taste)

4-6 tomatoes (preferably roma or plum tomatoes)

1 bunch of fresh cilantro

3-4 fresh green onions (freshness is very important here. Use half a white or yellow onion if the green onions at the store don't look fresh enough)

1-2 chiles serranos (these look like skinny jalapeños; jalapeños can also be used)

juice of 1-2 limes

pinch of salt

drizzling of olive oil (optional)

Finely chop all the ingredients, stir together in a large bowl and serve. I recommend chopping the onions, then the chiles (very finely), then squeezing the limes on top of these to mellow the flavor of the onions and let the lime juice take on the heat of the chilies. This will help spread the flavors and heat evenly throughout every bite.

There are five ingredients (aside from the salt), and I find this makes it easy to remember to pick up all of them when shopping. (Hint: there are most likely five fingers on your hand, which can be used for counting purposes)