Lentil and squash dhansak

Method

1. This is for a small slow cooker (1.5 to 3.5 litres). In a bigger one, double everything and freeze half. Rinse the red lentils. Peel the squash, scoop out the seeds and cut it into 2 cm chunks. Chop the onion, crush the garlic, and peel and grate the ginger.
2. Put the lentils, squash, onion, garlic, ginger, chopped tomatoes, curry powder, cumin, turmeric and tamarind paste in the slow cooker. Crumble in the stock cube, add 250 ml of water and stir well.
3. Put the lid on and leave it on. Cook on low for 7 to 8 hours or on high for 4 hours, until the squash and lentils have melted into a thick, sweet and sour sauce.
4. About 25 minutes before you want to eat, rinse the rice in a sieve and put it in a small lidded pan with 300 ml of cold water and a pinch of salt. Bring to the boil, cover, and cook on the lowest heat for 12 minutes. Turn off the heat and leave it covered.
5. Chop the coriander and stir it in just before serving. Season with salt and pepper, and serve over the rice.

Tip If you have no tamarind paste, use a squeeze of lemon juice at the end. Mash the squash a little against the pot for body.

Photo made with AI.

From Nosha · nosha.app