Dal-Vegetable Stew

This is the 2nd post on this blog with a recipe from The Indian Vegan Kitchen.

I didn't have the mung beans and red pigeon peas recommended in this recipe, so I used romano beans and black-eyed peas instead. The combination of beans, lentils and vegetabels in this dish make it a more or less complete meal, but feel free to serve it over a bed of rice or with a side dish (such as stuffed banana peppers).

Dal-Vegetable Stew

1/3 cup toor dal (pigeon peas)
1/3 cup mung dal (mung beans)
1/3 cup pink lentils, rinsed
4 cups water
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon salt (or to taste)
1 cups butternut/acorn squash or pumpkin, peeled & cut into 1-inch pieces
1 cup eggplant, cut into 1 inch cubes

Ingredients for the paste:

1 tablespoon garlic, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon ginger, peeled & coarsely chopped
1 cup tomatoes, coarsely chopped
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 teaspoon garam masala
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1/4 cup water
1 tablespoon oil
1 medium onion, finely chopped

1. Pre-cook the toor and mung dal for about an hour, so they that are just slightly under-cooked.

2. In a deep skillet, combine the toor/mung dals with lentils, salt, turmeric, squash, eggplant, and 4 cups of water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer for 25-30 minutes, until the dals and vegetables are very soft.

3. In the meantime, prepare paste: in a blender, combine garlic, ginger, tomatoes, cumin seeds, garam masala, coriander, cayenne pepper, and water. Grind to a smooth paste. Set aside.

4. In a large frying pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add onion and fry 1-2 minutes until slightly browned. Add the paste and fry until oil seperates, about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.

5. Add the oil and paste mixture to the stew in the skillet. Add 1/2 cup water, or more as needed, for desire consistency (should be thick and stew-like). Bring to a boil, reduce heat a low boil, cover, and simmer for 10 minutes.