Lunch Box

The talented Indian actor Irrfan Khan passed away yesterday. He was only 53. Besides Indian movies, he featured in several prominent Hollywood productions including Slumdog Millionaire, Life of Pi, and Jurassic World.  In India, Irrfan Khan set himself apart from the typical histrionics of Bollywood with his nuanced portrayals of characters. He was skilled at conveying multiple layers of meaning through effortless delivery of dialogs. Even though his expressive eyes often marked the characters he played with an underlying pathos, his comic timing was perfect as evident in one of his last movies, Hindi Medium, where he plays a henpecked husband who is trying to support his wife's social aspirations.

One of my favorite Irrfan Khan movies is The Lunchbox. The movie relates the story of an unlikely romance between a middle-aged widower and a young housewife whose husband is cheating on her. Their relationship results out of a mistaken delivery of lunch boxes -- when the lunch the housewife carefully prepares for her husband ends up with the widower (Irrfan). The Lunchbox is a testament to the complexity of romantic relationships -- with other couples serving as foils to the romance budding between the two main characters. The movie is also undeniably about food -- food that is cooked fresh at home, per individual tastes and preferences. Food, that the housewife hopes will help her win back the attention of her husband. Food that is transported through Mumbai's fascinating dabba-system whose service model was showcased by the Harvard Business Review. Irrfan played the lonely widower with his usual sensitivity and the parts of the movie where he eagerly opens his lunch box in the office cafeteria and licks the ends of his fingers after sampling the food establishes the undeniable connection between food and love.

Remembering Irrfan Khan in The Lunchbox, we had a dabba-lunch today comprising of daal (lentil soup), bhindi (okra) masala, roti, and aachar (pickle).

Daal

What You Need:

1/2 cup moong daal

1/2 cup masoor daal (red lentil)

1/4 cup tomatoes (chopped)

4 Thai bird chilies or 2 dried red chilies (optional)

1/2 tsp turmeric powder

1/2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp fenugreek seeds

1 sprig curry leaves (separated from the stem)

1/8th tsp asafoetida

11/2 tsp salt

1tsp sugar

11/2 tbsp ghee or neutral oil

Directions:

Wash the two kinds of daal separately in three changes of water.

Place the washed moong daal in a medium pot and pour enough water to cover the lentils.

Bring water to boil over medium high heat. With a large spoon, gently scoop the scum that rises to the top of the boiling water taking care not to mix the scum into the lentil.

When the moong daal is halfway cooked (6-7 minutes. You can also do this by picking up a few daal grains and squishing between your fingers. The daal should still be a little hard in the center.)

Add washed masoor daal to the half-boiled moong daal. Add enough hot water to cover both lentils completely. 

Continue boiling over medium-high heat. You will notice additional scum rising to the surface of the water. Remove these gently without disturbing rest of lentils.

When all the scum is removed, add turmeric, salt, and sugar. Stir to distribute evenly through the daal. 

At this point, both daals should be completely cooked. With a wooden spoon, scoop up some of the lentils and mash them against the side of the pot. This will add thickness to the daal.

The cooked daal will have the consistency of a thick soup. You can continue simmering for a few more minutes if you think your daal is too thin or add some hot water to thin it out if it is too thick.

While the daal is simmering, heat a small pan over medium heat. Add ghee/oil, mustard and fenugreek seeds. Wait till the whole spices start popping. 

Add chopped tomatoes, curry leaves, asafoetida, and chilies. Fry over medium heat till the tomatoes are soft.

Remove the pan from heat and transfer the tomato mixture to the gently simmering daal. Stir to mix the tomatoes, curry leaves, and chilies into the daal. Raise the heat to bring the daal to a gentle boil. 

Remove from heat. Serve with fresh rotis.

Note: The curry leaves remain in the daal, but they are not edible. So, don't bite into one.

Bhindi (Okra) Masala

What You Need:

4 cups bhindis/okra (washed, trimmed, and cut in 1/2 inch pieces. Fresh okra works best for this, but feel free to use frozen okra if that is all you have at hand.)

1/2 cup chopped onions

1 tsp cumin seeds

1 tsp turmeric powder

11/2 tsp cumin powder

11/2 tsp coriander powder

1 tsp aamchur (dried mango) powder (optional)

11/2 tsp salt

1 tsp sugar

2 tbsp neutral oil

Directions:

Heat oil in a skillet. Add cumin seeds and wait till they sizzle.

Add onions and cook over medium heat. Stir occasionally till onions are translucent (about 4-5 minutes.)

Add cut okras and stir to mix the onions and okras.

Cook stirring occasionally. The okras will become slimy. Don't be grossed out by the sight of this :-)

Add salt, turmeric, cumin and coriander powder. Keep stirring till the sliminess disappears and the okras soften (about 7-8 minutes). 

Add sugar and aamchur powder (if using) and mix evenly into okra mixture.

Add a couple of splashes of water if the okras seem very dry.

The final product will be dry and all okra pieces will be evenly coated with the spice mixture.

Remove from heat. Serve with rotis.