Lentil and Veggie Stew
1 cup lentils, any variety, or a combination
3 cups water (or more to taste - I like my lentils thick)
1 teaspoon turmeric
2 tablespoons fresh ginger, or 1 tablespoon ground
1/8-1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper
1 quart chopped veggies - any or all of the following:
potatoes, eggplant, bell pepper, zucchini, onion, cauliflower, carrot, etc
1 1/2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon mustard seed
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 tablespoon lemon juice
salt
1 chopped tomato
Simmer lentils, water, turmeric, ginger, and cayenne until lentils are tender -about 1/2 hour. Puree if desired. Add veggies and cook till they are tender, about 20 minutes more.
In a separate pan, heat oil and saute oil with mustard and cumin seeds until mustard seeds pop (like popcorn- be sure to use a lid) or turn grayish. Be careful not to burn them. If they burn, throw them away and try again. They smell delicious if they're done right.
Add oil with seeds to lentil and veggie mixture. Add lemon juice, fresh tomato and salt and serve with rice or flatbread (Indian flatbread, or tortillas, or pita-depending what's available to you).
SO HOW'D IT GO?
This was quite nice but just not enough liquid to cook the veges based on 3 cups.. I had to add more and puree the veges down a bit. I'm pretty sure I burned the mustard seeds :( .. but it was a nice dish nonetheless.. just seemed to be missing something - I think I would add some stock cubes or more salt next time.
I really enjoyed this, it was delicious. I added water with the vegies as I thought they might have stuck to the bottom of the pan without it. Next time i will cook the vegies separately and add them to the lentil mixture once cooked. Yum, I will make this again, thankyou :)
Anna1111, this sounds soooooooooo good! I definitely need to try this. The only thing I would change is instead of ginger, mustard, and chopped tomatoes, I would put in some sofrito and tomato sauce with some adobo!!!! Mmmmmmmmmmm!!!!!! :D