I love Indian food but I used to rarely make it at home, as it always seemed to be missing out on a certain depth. When I first moved to Portland, I met a lady who had just relocated here from India, we would walk our daughters home together from kindergarten and she would practice her English on me while I collected her vegetarian Indian cooking techniques. One of those secrets being black mustard seeds, she said if I didn't have those none of my dishes would taste right. Boy was she right. She ended up moving out of Portland a few months later, but before she did she made me an amazing buffet of her dishes. Fresh fried puri, lentils, and a basmati rice pudding! It was the most at home I had felt here in Portland at that point, we weren't able to stay in touch but I will always remember her and her amazing cooking. I used her techniques to develop this recipe, which is an easy weeknight version that doesn't require a visit to the specialty market.

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