Thanks Daal

I have been having such a topsy turvy week. It started with an unpleasant email from a student which is always upsetting. I’ve been trying to thicken my skin for the past 34 years, but more often than not the pokes and prods still leave a mark. My mood from here seemed to plummet and has only surfaced for a few brief moments. One of these happy moments included an interview with The Locavore Edition. I love what they’re doing on their website and earlier this year I was able to get my hands on The Field Guide to Victorian Produce that they loving compiled. They are about to get to work on a field guide for New South Wales and I would be so chuffed to get a chance to work on this with them. Cross your fingers everyone! But apart from the lovely time spent chatting to the girls there, a nice dinner with the bestie and a night of Mexican with my cousin, I haven’t felt like my happy self (even though looking back on those 3 events, I shouldn’t really be complaining). A week like this would usually put me in the mood to open a bottle of wine and order in some comfort food like Indian or Thai. But this week, I decided to cook my own comfort food.

The week prior (a much cheerier week) I had some sweet corn daal from the little organic cafe downstairs of where I work. It was so amazing and such a simple dish I decided to attempt it myself.

Sweet Corn Daal

500g of sweetcorn kernels or 4 cobs

350ml water

100g butter

Salt & Pepper for seasoning

3 garlic cloves, finely sliced

2″ ginger, chopped

Small brown onion finely diced

1 tsp mustard seeds

1 tsp cumin seeds

2 whole green chillies

1 bunch of fresh coriander

3 tbs of rice bran oil

Peel the silks and the strings off the corn cobs and shave off their kernels with a sharp knife using a downward action (stand the cobs on their end into a large bowl to do this)

Boil the kernels in 350ml of water for 10 minutes.

Scoop the kernels into a blender with a slotted spoon and pulse until the mix is roughly blended and the husks have been removed.

Return the corn back to the pan of water and cook for a further 15 minutes. If it becomes too sludgy add a little water.

Fry the onions in the oil in a separate pan until translucent.

Add the mustard seeds and as soon as they start popping add the cumin, garlic and ginger.

Fry the mix making sure the onion is coated in the whole spices and the ginger and garlic are starting to crisp up.

Add the whole chillies and cook until their skin bloats.

Empty all the ingredients into a bowl and cover to capture the aroma.

Just before serving, stir the onion, butter and spice mix into the hot sweetcorn.

Add chopped fresh coriander and serve with rice. Top with more coriander and slivered almonds for extra crunch.

Thanks to this daal, I was able to have a happy night. And who wouldn’t feel happy looking at that gorgeous golden yellow?