Berbere red lentils

This is a recipe that I made yesterday.  I adapted from one I found published in a newspaper.  I cut the oil and berbere way down.  It called for 3/4! cups of oil, which is just gross.  It also called for 1/2 a cup of berbere, which would make it so hot it would burst into flames.  Plus, your palette can only process so much flavor and 1/2 cup is a waste.

So, berbere (pronounce bear-bear-ay).  It is basically Ethiopian curry powder.  I will paste a recipe soon and I can't remember the exactly formulation difference, but it is red instead of orange or gray that curry powder typically appears.  The orange color in curry powder comes from the turmeric while in berbere there is a ton of paprika/cayenne pepper.  Berbere is really, really hot, so you will have to judge for yourself how much to add.  I added 1/4 of a cup, but I love spicy food.  It was frankly too hot for Beth, so she mixed it with a lot of rice.  Berbere is so delicious, though.  It is definitely brighter in flavor than curry powder, that is, fresher and zestier.  Remember, 4 tablespoons = 1/4 cup.

Berbere can be bought at Jungle Jim's and Penzey's in Hyde Park in Cincy.  If you don't live in Cincy, you might have a Penzey's in your local big city.  Back when I lived in Columbus, berbere was pretty easy to come by as C-bus has one of the largest Ethiopian communities in American.  I think the airport is more or less run by them.  Hamilton avenue on the east side of town has Ethiopian food store after Ethiopian food store.

Ethiopian cuisine tends to be mushy because you are supposed to scoop it up with injera, a kind of sour spongy bread.  I don't have any injera and a lot of people don't like mushy food, so I cooked the red lentils until they were soft, but still had some crunch.

Red lentils are pretty fantastic to have around the house and are pretty widely available.  They cook super fast, so are great for a quick meal. I made up a delectable backpacking meal that cooked up in 5 minutes about a month ago with 5 ingredients: instant brown rice, red lentils, salt, curry powder, and tuna from a bag.  So good.  Red lentils are also known as Egyptian dal and masoor dal in Hindi.  Always rinse dal before cooking, as they can have dust/crud on them.  Fill the pot with the dal with water and rinse between your fingers until the water gets cloudy and drain.  Repeat until the water stays relatively clear.
 

Berbere Red Lentils:

2 Tbsp oil (I used canola blend)
1-2 onions, finely chopped
1-4 Tbsp berbere
1 Tbsp peeled, grated ginger
2 tsp diced garlic
1 cup red lentils, rinsed
1/2 cup frozen peas (optional)
3 cups of water
1/2 tsp salt

1) Heat oil over medium heat
2) Fry the onions until softened, ~5-10 minutes
3) Add berbere, garlic, and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
4) Add the lentils and fry 1 minute
5) Add the water and bring to a boil over medium-high heat
6) Simmer around 15 minutes or until the liquid level has reduced and the lentils are cooked to your preferred consistency..
7) Add the optional peas and cook until heated through
8) Serve over rice or scoop up with bread, like naan or pita bread.  Have some yogurt on the side to cut the heat if it is too hot for you.

Note: on October 24th, 2014, I tried this recipe again with 2 tablespoons of berbere.  It is still quite hot and tasty, but not as flavorful.  I would cut the water to 2 cups next time.  It came out a bit too soupy.