The Indian Vegan Kitchen (26 page)

6. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice or flatbread.

NOTE:
To cook in a skillet:
Follow step 1 above. Combine drained beans, 6 cups of water, salt, and turmeric. Add ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Skim off the foam after about 5 minutes with a large slotted spoon. Reduce heat and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Follow steps 3 to 6 to finish cooking.

GF, LF

PASTE

1. Wash beans in 2 to 3 changes of water. Soak for 4 hours or overnight. Drain the water.

2. (For best results, cook in a pressure cooker. To cook in a skillet, see Note below.) In a pressure cooker, add beans, 5 cups water, salt, and turmeric. Cover with a lid and put the pressure weight in place. Once pressure develops, reduce heat and cook under pressure for 15 minutes. Cool the cooker until the pressure is removed. Open the lid carefully. Check beans for tenderness. The beans should be soft and mash easily with a spoon against the side of the pan. The liquid will become red from the beans.

3. While beans are cooking, combine tomato sauce, onions, ginger, garlic, green chiles, poppy seeds, cumin seeds, and coriander in a blender container. Grind to a smooth paste. If needed, add 1 to 2 tablespoons of water to grind the onion.

4. In a nonstick frying pan, add the ground onion masala. Cook over medium-high heat, stirring occasionally, until all the water evaporates. Add the oil and continue cooking until the onion masala colors and is thick enough to draw away from the sides and bottom of the pan in a dense mass.

5. Add the onion paste to the boiled beans and stir thoroughly. Bring to a boil and reduce heat to a simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in garam masala.

6. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with cilantro.

NOTE:
To cook in a skillet:
Combine the soaked, drained beans, 6 cups water, and salt. Add ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to a low boil and simmer for 40 to 50 minutes, until beans are very tender. Continue to follow steps 3 to 6.

GF, LF

1. Heat oil in a medium skillet on medium-high heat. Add cumin seeds and cook for a few seconds until darker brown. Add onion and fry 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Add ginger and tomatoes. Cover and cook for about 2 minutes. Using a potato masher or the back of a spoon, mash the tomatoes until well blended.

2. Add turmeric, coriander, cayenne pepper, and almond butter. Stir for a few seconds. Add the black-eyed peas and potatoes, and stir to coat with the onion masala. Add salt and water. Bring to a boil, reduce heat to a low boil, and simmer for about 10 minutes. Using the back of a spoon, mash a few potatoes against the pan.

3. Add garam masala and lemon juice.

4. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro. Serve with rice or roti.

GF, LF

SEASONING (
CHOUNK
)

1. Combine urad dal and chana dal. Wash dal in 3 to 4 changes of water. Soak for 2 hours or longer. (Dal can be cooked without soaking if you don’t have time and are using the pressure cooker. If cooking in a saucepan, you should soak the dal.) Drain the soaking water.

2. (For best results, cook in a pressure cooker. To cook in a skillet, see Note below.) In a pressure cooker, add washed dals, water, salt, and turmeric. Cover with a lid and put the pressure weight in place. Once pressure develops, reduce heat and cook under pressure for 15 minutes. Cool the cooker until the pressure is removed. Open the lid carefully. The dals should be soft and the water and dal should be well blended.

3.
Prepare seasoning:
While dal is cooking, heat the oil in a nonstick fry pan on medium-high heat. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds. Cook for a few seconds until cumin seeds are golden brown. Add onion and fry 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Add garlic, ginger, coriander, and cayenne pepper, and fry for a few seconds.

4. Add seasoning to the cooked dal. Check dal for desired consistency and add water if needed. Bring to a boil, reduce heat, and simmer dal for 5 to 10 minutes.

5. Transfer to a serving bowl and serve with lemon wedges, if desired.

GF, LF

SEASONING (
CHOUNK
)

1. Wash dal in 3 to 4 changes of water. Soak for 2 hours or longer. Drain the soaking water.

2. (For best results, cook in a pressure cooker. To cook in a skillet, see Note below.) In a pressure cooker, add drained dal, water, ginger, turmeric, and salt. Cover with a pressure cooker lid and put the pressure weight in place. Once pressure develops, reduce heat to medium and cook under pressure for 10 minutes. Cool the cooker until all the pressure is removed. Open the lid carefully. Check beans for tenderness. The dal should be very soft. Mash some of the beans with the back of a large spoon against the side of the pressure cooker.

3. Peel and cut the bottle gourd into 1-inch pieces. (If using zucchini, leave unpeeled and cut into 1-inch pieces.) Add the diced bottle gourd and bring mixture to a boil. Cook for 5 to 7 minutes, until the gourd is tender.

4.
Prepare seasoning while beans cook
: In a small fry pan, heat the oil on medium-high heat. Add the asafetida and cumin seeds. Cook for a few seconds, until cumin seeds are golden brown. Add onion and fry 2 to 3 minutes until golden brown. Add tomatoes and cook for 2 to 3 minutes until tomatoes are soft. Mash the tomatoes with a potato masher or the back of a large spoon. Add coriander and cayenne pepper and mix well.

5. Transfer onion mixture to the cooked dal. Add garam masala and amchur. Transfer to a serving bowl and garnish with cilantro.

NOTE:
To cook in a skillet:
Follow step 1 above. Combine drained beans, 6 cups of water, salt, and turmeric. Add ¼ teaspoon baking soda. Bring to a boil on medium-high heat. Reduce heat and simmer for 20 to 30 minutes, until the beans are very soft. Follow steps 3 to 6 to finish cooking.

GF, LF

For quick preparation and convenience, I use frozen spinach.

1. Wash dal in 3 to 4 changes of water. Soak for 2 hours or longer. (Dal can be cooked without soaking if you are using the pressure cooker. If cooking in a saucepan, soak dal beforehand.) Drain the water.