Teen Taal Dal (Three Tune Dal)

I needed something quick and easy for dinner last night and this fit the bill. The added bonus was supposed to be that it'd use up some cream and yogurt that needed to be eaten but, sadly, the yogurt had already gone off. Oh well, at least it used up most of the cream!

Teen Taal Dal

Slightly adapted from 660 Curries by Raghavan Iyer

Ingredients

• 1/2 c. whole black lentils (mapte beans/sabud urad)
• 1/4 c. dried chickpeas
• 1/4 c. dried red kidney beans
• 3 water, divided
• 2 bay leaves¹
• 2 black or green cardamom pods²
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 2 Tbsp. ghee
• 1 red onion, minced
• 3-4 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 Tbsp. ginger paste
• 1-3 fresh green Thai chiles³, minced
• 1/4 tsp. ground turmeric
• 2 Tbsp. tomato paste
• 1 tsp. coarse sea salt
• 1/2 c. plain yogurt
• 1/4 c. heavy (35%) cream
• 1 tsp. Dhania-Jeera Masala
• 2 Tbsp. chopped fresh cilantro

Directions

1. Pick the legumes over for stones and rinse well.
2. Place legumes in pressure cooker/InstantPot with 2 2/3 c. water as well as bay leaves, cardamom pods, and the cinnamon stick.
3. Cook on high pressure for 45 minutes and allow a 15-minute natural release at the end of cooking.
4. Meanwhile, melt the ghee over medium heat.
5. Add onion, garlic, ginger, and chilies and cook, stirring occasionally, for ~10 minutes.
6. Add the turmeric and 1/3 c. water and deglaze the pan.
7. Remove from heat and stir in tomato paste and salt.
8. Once the legumes are cooked, stir in the tomato-onion mixture.
9. Cook, uncovered, on medium heat for ~5 minutes.
10. Stir in the yogurt, cream, and jeera masala and cook for another minute or so.
11. Sprinkle with cilantro and serve with rice and/or roti.

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¹ I chose to use "Indian bay leaves" (which I believe are actually cassia leaves), but regular (bay laurel) leaves work fine here too. ^Back
2 I opted to use one of each. ^Back
3 I used only one chili as I wanted it to be mild enough for the Kidlet to enjoy, but I think this made it a little too mild. Next time I'd go with two chilies. I think that'd make the flavour a little more interesting while still being plenty mild enough for the Kidlet. ^Back

This is a Hello Fresh recipe, and came with pre-cubed squash, which is convenient when cooking in a hurry but a problem for adapting the recipe -- you're meant to toss it with oil and italian seasoning, then roast and mash the cubes. For this writeup I'm assuming you start with one or more whole squashes and, since the cooked squash is going to be mashed anyways, can just scrape it out of the skin -- but this does mean that the cooking time is a bit of a guess.

Rigatoni in Roasted Butternut Squash Sauce

Attribution

Ingredients

• 1 700g butternut squash
• 350g dry rigatoni
• 200g stracciatella cheese (or finely shredded mozarella or maybe mascarpone if you can't find it)
• 6 heads garlic, peeled and minced
• 1 yellow onion, chopped
• 125g kale, chopped
• 125g baby spinach
• 2 tbsp italian seasoning
• 1C freshly grated parmesan cheese, plus more for topping if desired
• ¾C sour cream
• 2tsp chili flakes
• 2tbsp butter
• oil
• salt and pepper

Directions

1. Bisect squash. Brush with oil and bake at 425°F until fork-tender, 30? minutes. Set aside to cool.
2. Bring water to a boil. Add salt and cook rigatoni al dente. Reserve 1C pasta water. Drain pasta.
3. While squash and pasta are cooking, melt butter in a large pan over medium-high heat. Add onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened and translucent, 4-5 minutes.
4. Add greens, garlic, and half the italian seasoning. Cook, stirring and covering as needed, until wilted, ~2 minutes.
5. When the squash has sufficiently cooled, scrape it out of its skin, put the flesh in the pasta pot, and mash with the reserved pasta water, stracciatella, parmesan, and chili flakes to taste.
6. Add the pasta and kale-onion mixture and toss to combine.

Steel-Cut Oatmeal

I've posted recipes for both baked and stove-top steel-cut oatmeal before. It's been a while though and I've tweaked some of the recipes. I figured it'd probably be good to write an updated post and try to collect all the various flavours and variations in one place.

Peaches and Cream Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. milk
• 1/4 c. vanilla sugar + a few empty vanilla pods
• 1 c. diced peaches

Directions

1. Melt the butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add the oats and cinnamon and toast for a few minutes.
3. Add water and milk and bring to a boil.
4. Stir in sugar, vanilla pods, and peaches.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (It will thicken slightly as it cools.)
6. Serve topped with peach jam and heavy cream.

Cherry-Almond Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. slivered almonds
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. honey
• 1 Tbsp. cinnamon sugar
• 1 c. sweet cherries, pitted and quartered

Directions

1. Toast almonds and cinnamon stick over medium heat until almonds are just starting to get a bit of colour.
2. Add butter.
3. Once butter is melted, add oats and increase heat to medium-high. Toast oats for a few minutes until they begin to smell nutty.
4. Add water.
5. Stir in honey, cinnamon sugar, and cherries.
6. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer for 20 minutes or until desired consistency. (It will thicken slightly as it cools.)

Cherry-Coconut Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. sliced almonds
• 2 Tbsp. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 1 c. sweet cherries, pitted and quartered
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract
• 1/4 tsp. almond extract

Directions

1. As above, but wait until oatmeal is off heat to stir in extracts.
2. Serve as is or topped with a few squares of dark chocolate.

Apple-Cinnamon Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 2 apples, diced
• 2 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/3 c. raisins

Directions

1. As above, adding the apples and cinnamon sticks along with the oatmeal.
2. Serve sprinkled topped with heavy cream and a little cinnamon sugar or a touch of extra brown sugar.

Peanut Butter and Jam Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 4 c. water
• 3 Tbsp. brown sugar
• 1/4 c. peanut flour
• 1 c. sliced strawberries
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. As above, stirring in the vanilla after the oatmeal is off heat.
2. Serve topped with a little peanut butter and strawberry jam.

Tropical Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1/4 c. unsweetened dried coconut
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. coconut milk
• 1/3 c. sweetened condensed coconut milk
• 1/4 tsp. ground nutmeg
• 1/16 tsp. ground cloves
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. As above, stirring in vanilla extract once oatmeal is off heat.
2. Serve topped with cinnamon sugar and pineapple and/or extra mango.

Mulled Apple Cider Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 apple, diced
• 3 (3") cinnamon sticks
• 1/2 star anise
• 5 cloves
• 1/4 tsp. coriander seeds, ground
• 3 green cardamom pods
• 1 blade of mace
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. apple cider
• 2 Tbsp. chopped prunes
• 1 Tbsp. candied orange peel
• 3 Tbsp. jaggery

Directions

1. Follow the usual procedure of toasting the oats in the butter, adding the spices along with the oats.
2. Add the water, fruit, and jaggery and reduce to a simmer for 20 minutes.
3. Serve topped with apple pie filling or, if you have some cider left over, make a reduction, stirring in a bit of butter and sugar at the end of cooking and top your oatmeal with that!

Banana Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 2 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 1 banana, sliced
• 1/4 c. brown sugar
• 4 c. water
• 2 Tbsp. spiced rum
• 1 tsp. vanilla extract

Directions

1. Melt butter over medium-high heat.
2. Add oats and toast for a few minutes.
3. Add banana and brown sugar and cook for a minute or two.
4. Add water and rum and bring to a boil.
5. Reduce heat to medium-low and cook for 20 minutes or until desired consistency is reached.
6. Remove from heat and stir in vanilla.
7. Serve topped with crushed banana chips and caramel sauce or dulce de leche.

Cranberry-Orange Steel-Cut Oatmeal

Ingredients

• 1 Tbsp. unsalted butter
• 1 (3") cinnamon stick
• 3 cloves
• 1 c. steel-cut oats
• 3 c. water
• 1 c. orange juice
• 2 Tbsp. candied orange peel
• 1/3 c. dried cranberries
• 1/3 c. fresh or frozen cranberries
• 1/4 c. vanilla sugar

Directions

1. Follow the usual procedure.
2. Serve topped with cranberry sauce and/or marmalade.