Recipe- Mouthwatering Butternut Squash Dal

And another easy recipe for a vegetarian Thanksgiving to end the week! This Butternut Squash Dal combines lentils with onion, tomato and is lightly tempered with mustard, cumin and curry leaves. Serve it with naan or rice! Vegan and gluten-free.

So for this butternut squash dal, I combined two lentils – chana dal and toor/arhar dal. Chana dal is little on the heavier side and it wasn’t made very often at my home but toor dal – that was everyday. Urgh, I never used to like it. Why would any kid like something which is served everyday for lunch? Until and unless it’s a cake of course! Anyway so for this butternut squash dal I used both and it really worked very well in the recipe. You can obviously use only chana or only toor depending on what you have in your pantry.

Ingredients

1/2 cup toor dal soaked for 30 minutes, also known as split pigeon peas lentil
1/4 cup chana dal soaked for 30 minutes, also known as split garbanzo beans
2.5 cups water
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon turmeric powder
1.25 teaspoons finely chopped ginger
2.5 cups butternut squash cubes from one small squash of around 800 grams
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 teaspoon mustard seeds
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 green chili chopped
3 garlic cloves finely chopped
5-6 curry leaves
1 medium red onion chopped
2 medium tomatoes chopped
2 tablespoons chopped cilantro
1 tablespoon lemon juice optional
1-2 cups water
salt to taste

Method

* Soak the chana and toor dal for 20-30 minutes. Drain water and set aside.

* To a pressure cook add, the soaked dal with turmeric powder, salt, chopped ginger and butternut squash.

* Pressure cook till dal is nicely cooked and squash is completely softened. I cooked on high heat for 4 whistles and then set the heat to low and cook for additional 5-6 minutes. Let the pressure come off on it's own and then set the dal aside.

* In a pan or work, heat oil on medium heat. Once the oil is hot, add cumin seeds and mustard seeds and let them crackle.

* Once the seds pop, add chopped onion, green chili and curry leaves. Saute for 2 minutes or till onion becomes slightly translucent.

* Add chopped garlic and saute for a minute or two.

* Now add chopped tomatoes and mix. Also add salt.

* Cook the tomatoes for 5 minutes or till they soften up.

* Now transfer the cooked dal to pan , add water and mix everything. Adjust salt at this point. Lower the heat and let the dal simmer for 5 minutes.

* Add cilantro and lemon juice (if using) and serve immediately.