Tempeh Stir-fry with Curry Rice and Chana Dal

 

The randomly-generated list of ingredients is: 

dal

tempeh

bamboo shoots

sun-dried tomato

It didn't seem too difficult of a task. These are all fairly familiar ingredients without any apparent clashes. Tie it all together with some curry spices. Easy.

Not surprisingly, it turned out pretty good. The crunchiness of the dal nicely balanced the chewiness of the tempeh and tomato. Also, not surprisingly, this dish tasted nutty. Severely nutty. Fortunately, copious amounts of cilantro kept that in check.

Unexpected lesson of the day: add sun-dried tomato to all future stir-fries.

Recipe for 2 or 3:

Ingredients

0.25 cup chana dal, soaked for at least 4 hours

8 oz tempeh, sliced

5 oz bamboo shoots, sliced

7 oz sun-dried tomato, sliced

1 clove garlic, minced

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 tbsp cashews

2 tsp curry powder

1.5 cup basmati rice, cooked

cilantro, as much as you can stand

lime wedges, for garnish

Method

Deep-fry the chana dal in a wok. Fish out the dal. Eat approximately one third of it while cooking the rest of the meal.

Pour off all the oil except what's needed to stir-fry. Brown the tempeh on both sides. Add the bamboo, tomato, and garlic. This doesn't need to cooked at Wokmaster heat, so the rice can be prepared in between stirs.

In another pan, fry the cumin seeds and cashews in a bit of olive oil. Add the curry powder when the cashews are almost browned. Mix in the rice. Add the lion's share of the dal.

When the stir-fry is almost done, throw in a splash of water or stock to soften up the tempeh and tomatoes.

Plate, sprinkle over the remaining dal, drown in cilantro, garnish with lime wedges, and serve with your favorite $3 white wine.