The other night we had friends over for a dinner with a Moroccan theme.
Far fetched, you think? Well, not really. It was a hot day here and most likely it was hot in Morocco, too. They like to eat healthy and so do we. But, before I go on, I’ll let you know the menu:
1. Iced buttermilk/lemon drink
2. Cucumber salad with sour cream/parsley dressing
3. Green leaf salad with orange/sesame dressing
4. Naan bread
5. Dahl and barbecued chicken
6. Fruit
7. Coffee and/or iced tea
For the Dahl recipe, you need:
500 g. green or brown lentils.
One cup long grain red rice
Parsley, dried
Four large onions
Salt, curry and paprika to taste
Instructions:
Put lentils and some salt in a large pot and cover with water.
Bring it to a boil, then turn it down to simmer until soft – about half an hour.
While the lentils simmer, measure one cup of rice into a pot with about two tablespoons vegetable oil and fry it, stirring continuously. After about five minutes add two cups of water, parsley, curry, paprika and salt to taste. Let it cook until all the water is gone. By then the lentils should be soft and the water gone. Mix both lentils and rice together and keep it on low heat. Cut the onions into small pieces and saute them in oil or butter – half and half is a good solution. Add them to the lentil/rice mixture. Add some more water if needed, salt, curry and paprika if desired.
Note: This can be eaten hot or lukewarm and can be prepared well ahead of time. It also can be frozen and reheated in the oven at 200 degrees, stirring occasionally.
And the iced buttermilk/lemon drink:
Put one litre buttermilk, juice of one lemon, sugar to taste and some ice cubes into the blender and blend. Tastes best served ice cold!
Naan bread: There is some excellent Naan bread available in most grocery stores and it is always good to have some in the freezer. Take it out when you need it and spread it on baking sheets. Sprinkle the bread with water and spread some melted butter on it. Preheat oven to 400 degrees and put the baking sheet on one of the uppermost racks. Bake for about four minutes or until light brown.
Fruit: Any fruit will do. I used grapes. Watermelons are very good in the summer and also help your digestion!
Salad dressings: For the sour cream/parsley dressing use oil, vinegar and salt as usual but add some sour cream and parsley. For the Mandarin orange/sesame dressing I cheated and used Kraft’s.
I also cheated with the barbecued chicken which I had bought all done – at the grocery store. When it is that hot we need all the help we can get! And, with the Dahl made ahead of time, this dinner is really easy on the cook!