Dal-Squash Fry Up

There is hardly a legume that I do not like. I always have a variety stocked up and whenever I go to the supermarket or travel overseas, I look for heirloom legumes and others that might be new to me. I do have favourites, for a variety of reasons – taste, texture, expediency of cooking, combinations that work well with each other, and other ingredients such as rice and vegetables. Oh, did I mention that I like dhal?

As I mentioned, some legumes cook up really quickly, and can be used right out of their packet or sack while others require an overnight soak. Toor dal (also known as split pigeon peas) is one of those yellow lentils that can work both ways – directly out of the package or rehydrated. For this recipe, I opted to soak the lentils overnight because I wanted it to cook up quickly with the squash.

Certain legumes when cooked together with vegetables such as squash, pumpkin, potatoes, or even karaila (bitter melon) add body and flavour to the dish. They also make the dish hearty and satisfying. Often these combos can be served as the entrée to vegetarian and vegan meals.

INGREDIENTS

• 

  1 cup toor dal soaked overnight

• 3 tablespoons oil
• 1 cup finely minced onions
• 2 teaspoons grated fresh root ginger
• 2 teaspoons finely minced garlic
• ½ cup diced tomatoes
• Salt and pepper to taste
• 1 heaped teaspoon whole geera/cumin seeds
• ¼ teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 large squash, peeled, de-seeded and chopped into chunks
• Fresh coriander/cilantro (optional)

DIRECTIONS

1. Heat oil in pan over medium heat.
2. Add onions, ginger, garlic and tomatoes along with salt and pepper to taste; toss to mix, reduce heat to low and cook until fragrant and softened. You should be able to easily mash the tomatoes with the back of a spoon. This step takes time so do not turn up the heat to hurry things along. Remember you are setting the foundation for the dish here.
3. Add geera and turmeric, raise heat to medium and cook for 2 – 3 minutes.
4. Add peas and squash as well as salt and pepper to taste. Toss to mix well and cook for 2 – 3 minutes, then cover pan tightly, reduce heat to low and cook for 20 – 25 minutes or until the peas are soft and cooked through but not completely mushy. Remove lid, turn heat to high to dry out excess moisture. Garnish with cilantro and serve with rice, roti or as is.

NOTES

• Regular yellow split peas can be used as a substitute; however, the peas may need to be par-cooked before being added to the squash to finish cooking.
• Red lentils can be used as well and will taste great just as long as you don’t mind them almost melting completely.
• When in Guyana, I usually can find toor dal at Mattai’s.