PSA

[rebeccmeister]

Habanero chilies are hot.

I cook'd again today. Today's bread looks a bit fluffier than last time. I also made a dal (that's a kind of Indian split-pea dish) and something with paneer and potatoes. I should have bought a can of diced chilies, but I decided to go with a habanero chili instead. Lemme tell you, my sinuses are clear now.

I have a bit of a conundrum: whenever I cook these red lentils, they always come out tasting kind of grainy. I'm not sure why. Ideas??

Comments

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

Do you use vinegar when cooking the lentils?

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

I don't. I guess the weird part is that I cooked lentils in Australia and they came out nice and smooth. Maybe they were just magic lentils.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

I ask because sometimes if you use something that is acidic when cooking the lentils it takes longer to cook them and they end up cooking too long and become quite grainy.

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

I wonder if maybe our tap water in these here parts is a bit acidic. Perhaps that could be doing it.

[gfrancie.livejournal.com]

That is quite possible.

[bluepapercup]

Perhaps, then, you could prepare the water you're going to add with an alkalizing agent, such as a teaspoon of baking soda?

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

GENIUS! That was what I was thinking. ;)

[bluepapercup]

haHAH! We're so smart. :)

I did a little poking around on the web to try and figure out if in fact your water is acidic. Your geology looks like several thousand feet of alluvium above the bedrock, so if your water is acidifying at the aquifer, then there is probably lots of limestone pebbles in your soil. I'll see what else I can find, I want to see if the Phoenix-Tempe Area has a water quality website, but it will have to wait because I'm at work, and should be, y'know, working. ;)

[rebeccmeister.livejournal.com]

I'll have to at least experiment!

[earthlingmike.livejournal.com]

Habaneros are generally considered the hottest chile pepper.