Weddings and Comfort Food
This week has been full of wedding planning for our family. My cousin got married yesterday which meant a lot of our family got together. I love big events like this because family trickles in from everywhere. We have a pretty big family and we don't live as close together as we'd all like. 
If any of you have thrown a big family event, you know it's busy, busy, busy. Everyone was running around the day of the wedding, while the boys and I stayed home. Liam was in the wedding and we decided to keep them home and tried to stick to their routine as much as possible. 
Realizing it could be a stressful morning, I tried to think of something comforting I could do for everyone. So, what did I do? I made chicken curry and coconut green beans! It's by far my families favorite meal and it was perfect. Here are a few of our other favorite dishes. Here is our favorite rice dish, beef dish, lentil dish, snack, and dessert.
What's your favorite, comforting meal? Share it in the comment section or tweet it using #almostindianwife
Pappu Recipe
At what temperature do you send your kids out to your sprinkler or kiddie pool? I lived in California for about ten years and swimming weather there is completely different than swimming weather here. There it would be at least 90 before you'd even consider swimming. Here in the beautiful Pacific Northwest... Well, it was 70 today and my kids were outside in the sprinkler and pool. Crazy? Yes, but they loved it and I know countless other kids were doing the same thing here. 
We also made some yummy pappu! Which was also one of the very first Indian dishes I learned how to make. It is a delicious lentil dish that you serve with rice. It's easy to make and everyone I have ever made it for loves it. Do you want to know another great thing about this dish??? It's gluten free! I have a few lovely friends and family members that are gluten free and this is a go to dish when they come over. Their are a few different variations of this dish. The one I make was taught to me by Joel's dad.
Ingredients:2 dry red chilies (you can also use red pepper flakes if it's all you have)1/4 an onion chopped2 tbs butter 3 tbs olive oil1 tbs black mustard seeds1 cup lentils (I use urad daal)1 chopped tomato1 tsp turmeric1 tsp chili powder4-6 cloves of garlic diced finely5 cups of water1 tsp salt1 tsp cumin seeds
Directions:Wash your lentils. Put the lentils in a bowl and fill it with water. Use your hands to mix it all around. Strain the water and repeat until the water is clear.In a medium sized pot, combine your water, onions, turmeric, chili powder, and lentils. Cook on medium/high heat. Cook the lentils until they're soft. Next, use an emersion blender or an actual blender. Blend all the ingredients until smooth. Your mixture should be the thickness of a good hearty tomato soup. Put the mixture back in the pot and keep it on low. In a separate small pot, heat your oil, butter, and garlic on medium heat. Once the oil starts to bubble add your dry chilies,cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. Turn it to medium low and stir. The garlic cooks quickly so you want to make sure you are watching. When the mixture turns golden, add it to your lentil mixture. Add some salt and your tomatoes.Cook on low for about 20 minutes and serve with rice.