Lentil and Bean Stew with Pumpkin and Chilli
Dal kadoo is yellow lentils and red kidney beans cooked slowly with pumpkin, turmeric, and chilli. A filling vegetarian dish from the Indian home kitchen, where pulses and pumpkin often come together in the same pot.
The dish takes time — an hour and a half for the lentils and beans, then another half hour with the pumpkin — but the work is minimal. The pot looks after itself while it simmers, and the flavour is built at the end in a separate pan with onion, garlic, cumin, and chilli, which is poured into the pot as a tarka.
Serve very hot with fried onion on top and chapati or rice alongside.
Ingredients
Serves 6
- 1,250 ml water
- 3 tsp salt
- 125 g yellow lentils (or split peas)
- 125 g red kidney beans
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 125 g pumpkin, peeled and cut into 5 cm pieces
- 3 tbsp ghee (or vegetable oil)
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 6 garlic cloves, crushed
- 1 tsp white cumin seeds
- 1 fresh green chilli, finely chopped
- 1 dried red chilli, crushed
- ½ tsp chilli powder
- fried onion, to garnish
Directions
Soak the red kidney beans in plenty of cold water overnight. Drain and rinse.
Bring 1,250 ml (5 cups) of water to the boil in a large pot. Rinse the lentils in a colander under cold running water and drain.
Add the lentils and beans to the boiling water with the salt and turmeric. Bring back to the boil, cover, and simmer over low heat for 1½ hours. Stir regularly so nothing catches on the base.
Add the pumpkin pieces and continue simmering under a lid for 30 minutes until the pumpkin is tender and the lentils and beans are completely soft. The dish should be thick and porridge-like.
Heat the ghee or oil in a pan over medium heat. Fry the onion, garlic, and cumin until the onion is golden and the cumin is fragrant.
Remove the pan from the heat and stir in the fresh chilli and chilli powder. The dried chilli can be crushed and added with the chilli powder, or scattered over at the end.
Pour the entire contents of the pan into the pot with the lentils and beans and stir through. Taste and adjust the seasoning.
Serve in bowls, garnish with fried onion, and serve immediately with chapati or rice.
Notes
Active time about 15 minutes. Total cooking time about 2 hours, but the pot looks after itself for most of that.
Split peas can be used instead of yellow lentils — they behave similarly, but split peas become a little more porridge-like. Red kidney beans can be replaced with other dried beans such as black beans; cooking times may vary slightly.
If using canned beans instead of dried, add them with the pumpkin in the last 30 minutes so they do not break apart.
The dish tastes better the next day, when the spices have had time to infuse. Keeps in the refrigerator for 3–4 days.
See Also
Cucumber Raita (Kheera Raita)
Mint Raita
Green Chutney
Mango Chutney (Indian Style)
