Bengali 5 Spice

By Karimah bint Dawoud.

You know sometimes you get fed up with the same ole, same ole, even though it’s nice, well that’s how I feel about dhaal, red lentils.

When we do our FEED THE NEED, Feeding The Homeless In Central London, one of our sistars cooks an  amazing dhall and spinach curry.

feed the need,more  tex dec12

If I remember rightly it’s seasoned with onion and garlic, turmeric/haldi, chilli and cinnamon, its lovely. However there comes a point where you are fed up of this spice combination which seems to be, with all respect due, an everyday combination.

Still on my NO MEAT FOR 365, I have been revisiting recipes from my Rasta days and trying on new things.

Today was no different,I had a friend coming over to help me cook , taste and clear up, herself an avid vegetarian, plastic shoes an all…what could we do with these blooming lentils that was a little bit different? And then I discovered “Bengali2 Spice Mix”.

D.I.Y. it’s not from a packet honey, you have to get this little beauty together on your own. Here we go; good old cumin seeds, fenugreek, fennel, sesame and mustard seeds.

bengali 5 s spice logo

This is the recipe we used with a bit of tweaking

http://www.simplyrecipes.com/recipes/red_lentil_dal/

And this is how it turned out. It’s different and delicious; I would highly recommend giving this a try.

Dhaal and Pancake

For more of my delicious recipes try, 

Heavenly Bites: The Best of Muslim Home Cooking

http://www.amazon.co.uk/Heavenly-Bites-Best-Muslim-Cooking/dp/1847740316/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1355826785&sr=8-1

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