Dal Chapathis and My Beloved City! - Simple Lunches 16

Home Away From Home! That is Washington D.C. is to me and my family. I do not take kindly the disparaging the city gets from politicians of all stripes. Now you know why the republican VP candidate did not endear herself to me. Sorry for bringing her up if you have already forgotten her and moved on but not so fast she might still be able to haunt us in the years to come! Bush and friends made the exact same mistake by calling themselves outsiders when they had more connections to the city than many of us would ever have even if we lived here for a few more life times. I sincerely hope the incoming Obama folks don't do it. They fought tooth and nail to get here, so they better take the city for better or worse.

For those of you not clued into US Politics. It has become a tradition of sorts to run as an outsider and call DC all kinds of names and portray yourself as an "outsider" meaning you are not part of the establishment. This apparently endears you to the rest of the country. "DC" say that in the most demeaning way possible and that's is how politicians refer to the place but fight tooth and nail to get here. What I resent most is the equating DC to everything sleazy, though the city and its people have nothing to do with the sleaze. It is the lobbyists, cronies and advisers brought in by these people from different parts of the country who are the sleaze.

The city is planning its biggest bash ever soon, so folks treat the city gently when you visit. I like the gentleness of this city when compared to say New York City for instance and the way it does not take itself seriously with so much power surrounding it. You could go down to the mall on a bright sunny or for that matter an overcast gloomy day for a game of soccer or tag or whatever. If you packed a picnic lunch no worries, you can pick a perfect spot and just hope the picnic tastes as good. You would never know you are walking in one of the most powerful places in the world. But you might not be able to take in the city and relax if you are visiting during inauguration, the city is just about to be packed to the brim.

Happy Holidays!

Visiting the city during the Holidays is always a joy. The Capitol Hill and White House Christmas trees and the decked out Union Station are all fun places to visit. If it is a moon lit night even better :)

Dal Chapathis

Just like writer's block,I get cooker's block (!?) now and then. It happened to me a few days ago. Lunch time was nearing and all I could think of was dal and I wanted a one dish quick and easy meal. The usual dal and rice did not sound appetizing. So the next best thing was to combine dal and wheat flour with some spices. I did not expect them to turn out as tasty as they did. The addition of the dal made it a lot easier to roll them out. These dal chapathis can be served as an evening snack with a dash of cream cheese. No side dish was required really but I made some onion/tomato/green chilies(sauted) raita.

Simple Lunches - 16 (Dal Chapthi, Onion - tomato raita and sliced cucumbers)

Ingredients
1. 1 Cup toor dal and red lentils (masoor dal) cooked with a pinch of turmeric and a dash of sesame oil
2. 1 1/2 cup of Wheat Flour
3. 1/2 tbsp sambhar powder
4. 2 tsp cumin seeds
5. 1/2 inch piece of ginger grated
6. salt to taste
Method
1. Mix the Wheat flour, sambhar powder, ginger, cumin seeds, salt along with the cooked dal and knead to a dough resembling chapathi dough. Sprinkle water if required.
2. Now take small lemon sized ball and roll them out into chapathi circle.
3. On a hot tava, cook the chapathis on both sides, spray a dash of oil/ghee if required at the end.

Serve with yogurt or raita.