Day 3 of stir frying - French Green / Puy lentil stir Fry

I will notch it up to mere coincidence, although the cheery optimist in me is already trying to draw inferences and 'sign's. I'm sitting here typing away and watching THE movie that got me started blogging. Julie and Julia. 

Earlier this morning I had a moment of serendipity that may have been staring at me all along for the past 3 years. In my face, yet eluding me, thanks to the never disappearing pile of pure knick-knacks that kept piling up on top of my dryer in the laundry room. You see, the main grip I had about my kitchen is also its best feature - huge skylights that keep in bathed in glorious sunlight while pottering around in the kitchen. But all those photons did not provide for the best lighting when it came to clicking photographs, especially in summer. In contrast, my laundry room has a window with diffused sunlight that streams though at a perfect angle.. Here's to hoping that I can take fill advantage.

Back to Julie & Julia - I'm going through a phase where I feel a bit of a 'burn out' and I wonder if my foray into the daily blog may have pushed me to it. Plus it does not help when I see barely any increase in the number of 'likes' on my Facebook page week after week, and I wonder where I'm shortchanging myself in terms my content and/or my marketing skills (or lack thereof). Ah well, here's to hoping that this phase too shall pass.
Well, I seem to have already shared todays recipe on my Facebook page notes 2 years ago, and so didn't bother to click photographs (and also, by the time I was done, the sun was well on its way to the other side of the world).

Puy Lentil Sundal

You need:

1 cup re-hydrated Puy lentils (toss the lentils in water for about 2 hours)

1/4 teaspoon Turmeric powder

2 tablespoons Olive Oil

1 teaspoon Mustard seeds

1 teaspoon split de-husked Urad dal

1 dried Arbol Chile

1 sprig curry leaves

1 pinch asafetida

Lime juice and Salt as per taste

1/4 cup thawed frozen coconut

Add the lentils to 3 cups of water along with the turmeric and bring to a boil for about 10 minutes. the lentils should still retain shape, but mush up uner finger pressure. Drain and rinse in cold water to shock the lentils and stop the cooking process. Drain off water completely and set aside.

Heat the oil in a non stick skillet. when it begins to shimmer add the mustard and Urad dal. when the mustard pops and the dal begins to turn golden, add the arbol chile, the curry leaves and the asafetida. Stir to combine and add the lentils and salt.

Shake the pan to mix the ingredients with the lentils. Allow  any residual water to evaporate completely.

Add the coconut and toss to combine. Remove from heat, drizzle the lime juice and transfer to a serving dish.

Tomorrow's stir fry is a sweet version made with Adzuki beans and cashews, so stay tuned.

Bon appetit!