Comfort Food, Indian Style, from A Recipe for Persuasion

 The novel, Recipe for Persuasion, by Sonali Dev was a very interesting fictional look at life from the perspective of a recently emigrated Indian to America.  Not at all a typical one however.  The novel's protagonist, is from a royal family, with a dysfunctional upbringing, and the assorted issues devolving from that situation.  She faces her own  unforgiveness and wrong assumptions finally, which is always a benefit to life outcomes.  A bit Bollywood, but still an entertaining, romantic and engrossing story.  The Publishers had this to say::

"From the author of Pride, Prejudice, and Other Flavors comes another , clever, deeply layered, and heartwarming romantic comedy that follows in the Jane Austen tradition―this time, with a twist on Persuasion.

Chef Ashna Raje desperately needs a new strategy. How else can she save her beloved restaurant and prove to her estranged, overachieving mother that she isn’t a complete screw up? When she’s asked to join the cast of Cooking with the Stars, the latest hit reality show teaming chefs with celebrities, it seems like just the leap of faith she needs to put her restaurant back on the map. She’s a chef, what’s the worst that could happen?  Rico Silva, that’s what.

Being paired with a celebrity who was her first love, the man who ghosted her at the worst possible time in her life, only proves what Ashna has always believed: leaps of faith are a recipe for disaster. 

FIFA winning soccer star Rico Silva isn't too happy to be paired up with Ashna either. Losing Ashna years ago almost destroyed him. The only silver lining to this bizarre situation is that he can finally prove to Ashna that he's definitely over her.

But when their catastrophic first meeting goes viral, social media becomes obsessed with their chemistry. The competition on the show is fierce…and so is the simmering desire between Ashna and Rico. Every minute they spend together rekindles feelings that pull them toward their disastrous past. Will letting go again be another recipe for heartbreak―or a recipe for persuasion…?" 

Dev is an ardent Jane Austen fan and has based the first three books in this trilogy on several of her novels.  I've got the debut book on my TBR stack, and looking forward to it - Pride, Prejudice and Other Flavors. Each is based on another character in the Raje family, so they probably don't need to be read in order.  Not that I did it on purpose.   

 Ashna's mother, toward the end of the book prepares a meal for her daughter, a childhood comfort food - Varan Bhaat.  This is a nicely spiced dish of lentils, served over rice and topped with a bit of ghee and sprinkling of coriander leaves.  

Varan Bhaat

   (means lentils and rice)

Ingredients

1 cup split red or yellow lentils, toorval dal

2 ½ cups water, approximately

1 teas. cumin seeds

2 tablespoons oil

½ cup onion, chopped finely

1 teas. roughly chopped green chilies (optional)

½ cup tomatoes, chopped

1 teaspoon turmeric powder

A small piece of jiggery (optional)

Salt

Garnish with Coriander leaves, some lemon juice, Metkut spice blend or Garam Masala

Method

• Wash and soak the dal in water for 30 minutes to an hour, then drain and put in your cooking pot. (I skipped the soaking)
• Ad d 2 to 2 ½ cups of water. The water level should be 1 to 1.5 inch above the level of the dal. 
• Bring to a boil, then turn down and simmer, for about 40 minutes to an hour. Or, you can pressure cook the lentils.
• Meanwhile, lightly toast the cumin seeds, add the oil, heat on medium high, then add onions and sauté until soft and add the chiles if using.
• When lentils are soft, add turmeric powder, salt, cumin, onions, tomatoes and and chilies to the cooked dal.
• Mix well using a spoon or a whisk.
• Cook the dal again for around 5 minutes so that the turmeric powder and jaggery blends well with the dal.
• Serve over steamed rice  with a tablespoon of warm ghee.

Serving ideas:

1. Serve Varan with a squeezed half a lemon over it.
2. Serve it with a teaspoon of metkut or Garam Masala sprinkled over.
3. I served a side dish of Saag, which is a purée of lightly spiced leafy greens, and some mango chutney.

Altogether a really yummy meal.  And, comforting I should add.  This post will be shared over at Weekend Cooking, hosted by the inimitable Marge, the adventurous, Intrepid Reader, and at Heather's site, Foodies Read Challenge.  Please come by and enjoy some good cooking and book ideas.