Butternut Squash dal in the IP, with some other veggies added

[pepperhead212]

I made a dal, with my smallest one of those butternuts of the season, which had 20.6 oz, or a little more than 4 c of cubes, once it was trimmed and seeded. I started by rinsing 1¼ c of toor dal, then soaking it, while cutting up the squash, chopping a large onion, and mincing 2 large cloves of garlic, with about a tb of ginger. I also measured out ingredients for the tarka, and the rest of the dal, to cook the dal with. I also blended 2 c of ripe tomatoes, to have ready.

Just before starting to cook, I drained the toor dal, then added about 3/4 c masoor (red) dal, and rinsed them well. Then I put about 2 tb ghee in the Instant Pot, and set it on sauté, medium, and when melted, added a large chopped onion (about 1¼ c), and when golden, I added 1 tsp cumin seeds (more later), the minced garlic/ginger paste (with about a tsp of salt), cooked about 30 sec, then added about a tb of Kashmiri chili powder, 1/2 tsp turmeric, and 1½ tsp garam masala (more of this later, too), and cooked another 30 sec., then added the 2 c of tomatoes to the pot. I let that boil about 3 minutes, scraping the pot, then added just under 4 c water, used to rinse out the VM, and lid! Then I added the drained dal, the butternut cubes, and the cut up stems of the Swiss chard (the chopped greens go in later, with some chopped mild chiles, and a few pole beans, cut up). I tasted for salt - added about 1/2 tsp (most is in that garlic paste), mixed, then put the lid on, and set on Bean mode, for 5 minutes, and let it reduce 15 minutes (only had a small amount of pressure still). Meanwhile, I prepared those veggies to be added, and when the dal is ready, I stir the veggies in, set the IP so Bean mode, for 3 minutes, and let it reduce 15 minutes again, when done. Then I took the cover off, stirred in another tsp of garam masala, and let it sit on warm, while making the tarka.

In the 1 qt pot, I heated about 2 tsp ghee, then added another tsp of cumin, and 3/4 tsp mustard seed, and when it started crackling, added about 1/4 tsp asafoetida, followed by a large stem of curry leaves, stripped, until they were crisp, then I scraped it onto the dal. Then I added about 4 tb of chopped cilantro, to finish.
My smallest butternut squash this season, 20.6 oz of cubes, after trimming. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

The 20.6 oz of butternut cubes, plus the garlic/ginger paste, to go into the dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Butternut dal dish, about 3/4 cooked, before a bunch more veggies being added, and briefly cooked. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Chard, mild peppers, and a few pole beans, ready to stir into the butternut dal, to finish cooking. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Cumin and mustard seeds, some asafoetida, and a large sprig of curry leaves, ready to make tarka. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Asafoetida added, and finally the curry leaves, cooked just until crispy. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Tarka, just before stirring into the finished dal. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

Finished butternut dal, with some crispy slices of toasted French bread. by pepperhead212, on Flickr

 

[larry_stewart]

Looks good! I have some left. over butternut squashes from last year that. Ive been looking for something to do with them. This may be it ! Thanks for posting.

*Curry seeds or. leaves ?

 

[pepperhead212]

Looks good! I have some left. over butternut squashes from last year that. Ive been looking for something to do with them. This may be it ! Thanks for posting.

*Curry seeds or. leaves ?

Actually, cumin seeds...I went and changed it! I thought I had put "seeds" down, instead of leaves, but I put curry, instead of cumin. Fortunately, you can edit these things even if you discover something more than 20 minutes later now, though I'm not sure how much longer.

 

[pepperhead212]

I just took 2 containers - about 20 oz each - of this stuff over to my Indian friends, and the two of them loved it! The mom was born in London, but her parents are both from the Punjab region, and the two kids are 50% Indian, and he is the one I got started on growing peppers. The mom felt a small amount of heat in this, and the only things I put hot in it was the Kashmiri chili powder, which is very mild, and the black pepper in the garam masala (which she never noticed, when I share that with them, when I make a bunch). So what she did, was stirred in some yogurt, which is a common addition to many curries. She said that did the trick, and she didn't feel the heat after that. He didn't feel the heat at all, but liked the yogurt with it, too. I told her I thought of her, when I didn't put any whole peppers in the tarka, like I usually do, yet she still felt the heat!

She's the one that I got growing an even larger garden than mine, in just 3 years after they bought their house, and now wants to know about butternut squash!

 

[dragnlaw]

When you say a pepper is mild - do you mean milder than a jalapeno or bird (Thai). Those are the max I can go. but you use all these different names and call them mild - scares me a bit!

 

[pepperhead212]

dragn - I mean very mild, probably milder than ancho peppers, or very mild Numex. In fact, I think this batch of Kashmiri is hotter than most I've gotten, since what I've had in the past I couldn't feel any heat at all. I'll have to roast some of the whole ones, grind them, and compare them. If it still seems hotter than the stuff I make, I'll have to keep it aside for other uses, and make my own!

 

[taxlady]

Numex peppers? Ancho, I have heard of. But, I never see peppers at the store with names like ancho. I see jalapenos, bird peppers, Scotch bonnets, habaneros, cubanelles, banana peppers, and something labelled long red or long green chiles.. I see a few other types at the place where I order my produce basket, but we don't have nearly as much Mexican cuisne influence here in Canada as you folks in the US have.

 

[dragnlaw]

Ditto taxy!