Five Lentil Stew Panch Dal Food

FIVE-LENTIL STEW (PANCH DAL)

Steps:

• Rinse dals. Bring water to boil in large pot. Add dals, stir, and bring back to boil. Remove from heat, cover, and let sit 2 hours.
• Add turmeric and cayenne to dal and bring water to boil. Reduce heat slightly and simmer until dal is tender, approximately 35 minutes.
• 10-15 minutes before dal is ready, begin cooking spice mixture. Heat oil in heavy skillet or saucepan over medium-high heat. When hot, add onion and garlic and fry 2-3 minutes, stirring frequently. Add cumin and garam masala and cook another minute. Add tomatoes and salt and cook until tomatoes have been reduced, approximately 10 minutes.
• Add onion mixture to dal and stir well. Cook 2-3 minutes more to blend flavors. Taste for salt and adjust seasoning.
• Serve hot in one large bowl or in individual-sized bowls with chapati or naan.

CROCK POT DAL

Steps:

• Rinse 1 cup masoor dal (the orange lentils), or split yellow moong dal or toor dal and place ithe lentils in a crockpot whose insides you have lightly oiled.
• Add 3 cups water, put the crockpot on high and cook for two hours.
• Stir, and check to see if more water is needed. Keep checking for water and stirring every 30 minutes until the lentils are cooked smooth.
• When it is almost time to eat, in a large nonstick frying pan put the oil and mustard seeds. Heat over high heat until the mustard seeds have popped for about 10 seconds.
• Quickly stir in the hing and curry leaves.
• Add the tomatoes (optional) and serrano chilies. Stir-fry for about 4 minutes.
• Add the spinach (this is optional). Stir-fry until the spinach is very tender, adding a little water if needed.
• Stir in the turmeric, ground cumin and ground coriander.
• Combine the spices and lentils either in the frying pan or the crockpot and mix until well blended. Check for water.
• Add salt to taste and stir in the lemon juice. If desired, garnish with a little cilantro.
• Variation: Instead of the spinach you can add 1 minced carrot that you have cooked in a bowl of water in the microwave for about 10 minutes, along with 1 large diced potato. When adding the cooked carrot and potato pieces to the fryiing pan, add 1/2 cup frozen green beans and 1/4 cup frozen peas. If you want to use fresh green beans, cook them in the microwave like you did the carrots and potato.