Potato Curry

Putting it here for reference so I don't lose it.
From http://vegrecipes.livejournal.com/1342699.html

4 russet potatoes, peeled and cubed
2 tablespoons canola oil
1 medium yellow onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, minced
4 teaspoons curry powder
4 teaspoons garam masala
1 inch of ginger, grated
2 teaspoons cumin
1 1/2 teaspoons cayenne pepper maybe start with 1/4 or 1/2 tsp, add more later. 3/4 was too much.
2 teaspoons salt (or to taste)
1 can diced tomatoes (~15oz size)
1 can of coconut milk (~15oz size)
1 can garbanzos, rinsed and drained (~15oz size)
1 can peas (I used 1/2 a package of frozen peas)

Boil potatoes til (just barely) soft. Sautee onions and garlic til soft. Stir in curry powder, garam masala, ginger, cumin, cayenne and salt. Cook for 1 or 2 minutes, stirring. Mix in potatoes, garbanzos, and peas, then stir in the tomatoes and coconut milk. Simmer 5-10 minutes.

Dal Makhani / Madras Lentils

I want to try my hand at Dal Makhani--I really like Trader Joe's Madras Lentils which seem to be a version of it. I have no idea if the TJ's stuff is authentic or not, but it's tasty. And I have some black lentils sitting around that I want to use up.

The TJ's stuff contains tomatoes, lentils (pretty sure they are black lentils--they are unlike any red or green or brown lentil I've used), kidney beans, onion, cream, salt, butter, oil, ginger, red chiles, and cumin.

I'm going to play around with this recipe (but without a pressure cooker since I don't have one.) Kasoori methi seems to be fenugreek, but I think I'll leave it out the first time.

Black-eyed beans with mushrooms

From Madhur Jaffrey's terrific book Indian Cooking, with very very slight changes

8 oz dried black-eyed beans, washed and drained
2 pints water
8 oz fresh mushrooms, chopped through the stems (1/8" thick)
6 TBS veg oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 inch cinnamon stick
1 med-to-large onion peeled and chopped
4 cloves of garlic, minced
14 oz tomatoes peeled and chopped (I didn't peel them because I'm a lazy bastard)
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1/2 tsp turmeric
1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
2 tsp salt try using less --1.5 was slightly too much
ground black pepper
3 TBS chopped fresh parsley

Place beans and water in pot. Bring to boil, cover, turn down heat and simmer for 2 minutes. Turn off heat, let sit for 1 hour. (I did this last night so I could prepare everything else while the beans were actually cooking the next day)

Bring beans to a boil again, cover and turn down heat, simmer for 20-30 minutes or til tender.

[meanwhile] Put oil in frying pan over med-high heat (I used a heavy-bottomed pot that can serve as one.) When hot, put in the cumin seeds and cinnamon stick. Let sizzle for 5-6 seconds, then add onions and garlic. Stir & fry until the onions turn brown at the edges. Add mushrooms, stir/fry til they wilt. Add tomatoes, coriander, turmeric, and cayenne pepper. Stir/cook for a minute, then cover and turn heat to low. Allow mixture to cook in its own juices for 10 minutes. Turn off frying pan.

Add mushroom mixture to bean mixture (or as I did, add the beans to the mushroom mixture - that's where the heavy-bottomed pot used in place of a frying pan comes in handy - so that you can sort of deglaze the pan and get any of the nice oils from the cooked onions/mushrooms/spices.) Add salt, black pepper, and parsley. Stir, bring to a simmer, and cook uncovered on med-low heat for 30 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick before serving.

I felt like it could use something sharp/sour (like lemon juice) as a counterpoint, but haven't tried it.

Update: I made this for the second time, many years later, with the following modifications: maybe 1/4 tsp of cinnamon instead of the stick, and a bunch of cumin powder instead of the cumin seed. (I just added these after sauteeing the onion & garlic for a bit.) I also used fresh tomatoes this time, very overripe, probably closer to 1.5 lbs. It was really delicious this time.