Toor Dal with Vegetables - Simple Sambar

Simple Sambar

Sambar is a South-Indian dish of lentils & vegetables that is usually fiery & spicy and I love it. Hubby, however, can't tolerate spicy food so when I cook this at home it is much milder with the spices toned down several notches, which is why I refer to it as Bengali or simple sambar. This dish is generally made with toor dal or yellow split pigeon peas, and any vegetables you have on hand.

Stir-Fried Okra with Onions - Bhindi Bhaja

Bhindi Bhaja

I love how easy life is in North America if you have an interest in cooking at home rather than eating out. Okra, also known as bhindi in Hindi or dharosh in Bengali, is delicious any which way it's cooked. It is, however, a pain to prep in its fresh form. It needs to be washed first, then each of them needs to be dried with a paper towel before cutting. In North America, okra can be found in the frozen foods section of most supermarkets, already cut into bite-size pieces. I take them straight from the freezer to the frying pan without thawing.

Bengali Egg Curry - Dimer Dalna

Dimer Dalna

The eggs in this Egg Curry are sometimes halved before simmering in the tomato gravy. It is, however, more conventional to leave them whole when cooking them in the Bengali way. After hard-boiling and peeling, the eggs are slit vertically five to six times around the circumference, so that the gravy penetrates through to the core.