Something I want to do more this year is eat more plant-based protein.
BUT eating eating plant-based protien alone isn’t interesting enough.
I hate eating boring food, and I get annoyed when I zone out while cooking or when I make the same thing over and over again. I brought 5 different types of beans and red lentils in my checked bag last week from the US. I have not found very many options of lentils in Peru yet, and they seem to have way more bean options. That said, I live in an isolated part of the country so I just don’t really know what is available.
Also, I went to a huge amount of trouble to bring an electric pressure cooker (an Instant Pot) with me to Peru and a collection of Indian spices to cook with in hopes of making this spicy Dal. I plan to grind up the spices with my grinder. Here’s to a new plan with new spices for the New Year.
Measurements will vary based on your taste.
Step 1: Soak 2 cups of Masoor lentils in a big pot of water for two to six hours. Drain.
(If using black lentils, insert step 1a: Pour the drained and soaked lentils into a big pot of boiling water for fifteen minutes, skimming off any crud from the top of the pot). Then drain immediately before step 6.
Step 2: Make a garam masala in your blender. Be sure the blender is dry. For the masala:
1 TB black mustard seeds (the most important, unskippable seeds are the mustard, the coriander and the cumin.)
1 TB coriander seeds
1 TB cumin seeds
1 tsp black peppercorns
3 pods of black cardomon
1 inch of real (soft) mexican cinnamon
1 pinch of turmeric
2 or 3 or 6 dried chili peppers, up to you
Obliterate the spices in the blender until it’s practically a powder. Pour into a small bowl.
Separately, dice 3 cloves of garlic and a two inch long hunk of ginger into tiny bits. Move to another small bowl. (here’s one optional ingredient that you can only get at an Indian grocery: fresh ‘curry‘ leaves. If you can get them, tear five of them to little bits and add to the ginger/garlic bowl. I don’t think the dried ones are worth it).
Step 3: Put the Instant Pot on “Saute”. Put 2 TB coconut oil or even better, Nutiva coconut oil with vegan butter flavor so it’s like ghee. If you’re not a vegan, you can use 2 TB ghee instead. Wait until it melts.
Step 4: add the garam masala to the melted oil/ghee. It’ll sizzle. Stir it for one minute.
Step 5: add the garlic and ginger. Stir for thirty seconds.
Step 5: add a big can of cheap tomato puree. 28 oz. Stir.
Step 6: add an empty tomato can’s worth of water. Stir.
Step 7: drain the lentils and add. Stir.
Step 8: turn off the Instant Pot and reset it for ‘Beans’. Change the time down to 21 minutes. Lock the lid.
That’s it. You’re done. When the timer goes off, release it.
Please serve hot. Reheats many times. Freezes well. You can top it with more ghee or (yikes) cilantro, or with more spice or with yogurt.