Red Quinoa and Curried Lentil Stew

[Laurie Ann March]

Red Quinoa and Curried Lentil Stew
from Another Fork in the Trail

Dehydration Time: 8-13 hours
Makes 4–6 servings

This spicy stew is a definitely a fusion of cultures with red quinoa, a food of the Incas and yellow lentils, also known as moong dal, from India.

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1/2 cup onion, diced
1/2 cup carrot, diced
1/2 cup celery, diced
2 tablespoons celery leaves (optional)
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, grated
1 tablespoon curry powder
3 1/3 cups of vegetable stock
1/3 cup red quinoa, uncooked
3/4 cup yellow or red lentils
1 28-ounce can diced tomatoes
1 tablespoon sambal oelek
1 19 ounce can chickpeas, rinsed and drained
salt, to taste
pepper, to taste
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro
1/3 cup plain yogurt or soy yogurt (optional)

At Home
Place the quinoa in a fine sieve and rinse for at least 3 minutes to remove the bitter coating. Drain and set aside. Check over, rinse and drain the lentils and set aside with the quinoa. Put the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Sauté the onion, carrots, celery and celery leaves until the onions are translucent and the carrots are tender, about 10 minutes. Stir the garlic, ginger and curry powder. Add the stock and bring to a boil. Then add the tomatoes, quinoa, lentils and sambal oelek. Reduce to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes or until the lentils are tender but not mushy. Add the chickpeas and let simmer for an additional 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper, to taste and stir in the cilantro. Then add the yogurt if you are using it and stir until incorporated. The stew will thicken as it stands.

Measure the stew and write this measurement on a sticky note. Spread on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 8 to 13 hours or until no moisture remains. Put the stew and the sticky note in a ziplock freezer bag.

At Camp
Add enough boiling water to the stew ingredients in a pot to equal the measurement on your sticky note. Be sure to account for and add your dried ingredients to the rehydration container prior to adding the water. You can always add more water if you need to. Let rehydrate for 20 minutes or until fully hydrated. Once the stew has rehydrated, heat it through over a stove and serve. If the stew is too thick for your tastes, add a little more water.

Tips
If you cannot find red quinoa then use white. It has a slightly stronger flavor. You can also substitute red lentils for the yellow lentils but you might have to adjust the cooking time by a few minutes. Always check lentils carefully for foreign matter before cooking. If you do not want to use canned chickpeas then use an equivalent amount of dried beans that have been soaked and cooked.

[W I S N E R !]

Nice.
I've recently gone back to vegan eating and you've been dishing out some pretty good looking recipes. Thanks.

[Laurie Ann March]

thanks Craig. We aren't vegetarian but have veggie/vegan tendencies.

[Tim Lawes]

Thanks for the recipe. I found that it took significantly longer to cook the moon dal – approximately 1 hour.

[Laurie Ann March]

Are you using a split moong dal? They should only take 15 to 20 minutes to cook (a little less if you've soaked it).

[Anonymous]

"I found that it took significantly longer to cook the moon dal – approximately 1 hour."

As Laurie said, soaking them reduces the cooking time. For even faster cooking, try the salmon colored(red) lentils, also soaked. They will cook even quicker. Personally, I think they taste better as well but I am probably prejudiced, being married to a Bengali who grew up where they are the lentil of choice. Either way, you can't go wrong. They are both superb sources of protein and fiber, and taste great.

[Laurie Ann March]

Tom… I'm a big fan of the red/salmon lentils too. I grew up with lentil soup as a staple. My Mom is Scottish but I'm not sure of the origin of her soup recipe. It was served with mashed potatoes.

I use lentils in so many things even a lentil pate that is much like a hummus-type dish. Of course, lentil salads are one of my favorites. I have an Indian Carrot salad I make on the trail and it uses uncooked but soaked split moong dal. Here's a photo…

[Anonymous]

"I grew up with lentil soup as a staple. My Mom is Scottish but I'm not sure of the origin of her soup recipe. It was served with mashed potatoes."

Now we're talking! Two of my most favorite foods in one meal. We do them with potatoes a lot, too.

That is a most yummy looking and, I assume, tasting salad, BTW.

[Laurie Ann March]

Tom… you know you are the first person, outside of my family, who I've come across that doesn't shake their head at the lentils with mashed thing. Mom's lentil soup was always made with the stock from a ham bone too. I tend to lean to a more vegetarian-friendly style these days but there was something about the ham stock. Incidentally, shredded ham dehydrates beautifully.

Thank you. The salad was a tease, however, I'll pull the recipe out of the manuscript sometime this week and post it. On trips longer than 5 days or so, I really miss things like salad. That's why I make all of these salad-like concoctions. The little black things in this are pungent black mustard seeds (which are easily omitted if that isn't your cup of tea). The dressing is warmed on a stove and is a bit spicy.

[Anonymous]

"Tom… you know you are the first person, outside of my family, who I've come across that doesn't shake their head at the lentils with mashed thing."

It is very similar in concept to a classic Indian comfort dish called Khitchuri, which we have whenever my wife gets homesick, frequently in the long, dismal, PNW winters. ;)

"Mom's lentil soup was always made with the stock from a ham bone too. I tend to lean to a more vegetarian-friendly style these days but there was something about the ham stock."

I evolved along a similar path, Laurie. We didn't have lentils when I was a kid, but Mom used to buy a smoked ham shoulder once a week and make boiled dinner the first night, followed by either split pea soup or bean soup with the bone and remaining bits of meat on it. When I first discovered lentils, even before I met my wife, I used to cook them with a smoked ham hock, just like bean and pea soup. Though I no longer eat meat other than fish, the smell of a pot of pea, lentil, or bean soup with ham still makes my mouth water.

"The salad was a tease, however, I'll pull the recipe out of the manuscript sometime this week and post it."

If you post it, I will print it out, that's a promise. We are always on the lookout for new veg recipes, especially with lentils.

"The little black things in this are pungent black mustard seeds (which are easily omitted if that isn't your cup of tea). The dressing is warmed on a stove and is a bit spicy."

Black mustard seeds are ubiquitous in Bengali cooking. They appear in almost every veg dish and are frequently sizzled in a small amount of hot oil until they start to pop, then added to dahl(lentils) just before serving. They only make your dish all the more appetizing to me. YUMMMMM!!!

[Chris Jones]

"Tom… you know you are the first person, outside of my family, who I've come across that doesn't shake their head at the lentils with mashed thing."

That makes me the second person then. I love dal curry. I use a 2:1 combination of moong dal and red lentils when I make mine…

[Laurie Ann March]

As promised. If you wanted to lighten this up you could nix the fresh lime and use a packet of True Lime. This is especially nice if you have the dressing warmed but sometimes I just don't feel like dragging out a stove.

Indian Carrot Salad
from Another Fork in the Trail

Vegan, Gluten Free
Dehydration Time: 6–10 hours
Makes 3–4 servings

Our friend Chander Bhardwaj is from India. Chander introduced Bryan to many interesting foods when they would lunch together at a little Indian restaurant. Bryan would sometimes bring home meals from the restaurant for us to try, and I was compelled to delve more into creating other Indian-inspired meals on my own. Moong dal, or yellow split lentils, are now a staple in our house, and they make this carrot salad a little heartier. The addition of black mustard seeds gives this flavorful dish a slight pungency. If you don’t like black mustard seeds, omit them.

2 cups boiling water
1/3 cup moong dal
2 cups carrots, coarsely grated
1/3 cup mango, coarsely grated
1/3 cup unsweetened coconut
2 tablespoons fresh cilantro, chopped
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 to 2 dried chile de arbol
1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds
juice of 1 lime
Pinch of kosher salt

At Home
Soak the dal in 2 cups of boiling water for 3 hours. Drain the dal and then mix with the carrots, mango, coconut, and cilantro. Spread on lined dehydrator trays and dry for 6 to 10 hours. Place the mixture into a medium-size ziplock freezer bag. Wrap the garam masala in a bit of plastic wrap and add the bundle to the bag with the carrot mixture. Heat the oil in a pot over medium heat. Add the chile de arbol and cook until the chili peppers start to darken slightly. Remove the chili from the pan and the pan from the heat immediately. Let the oil cool and then pour the infused oil into a leakproof container. Place the black mustard seeds in a piece of plastic wrap if you plan to use them and add the bundle to the carrot bag. Pack a fresh lime right before your trip.

At Camp
Remove the spice bundle from the freezer bag and set aside. Rehydrate the salad mixture in the plastic bag by using a formula of 1 1/2 parts dried mix to 1 part water. Wait 5 to 10 minutes, then add a little more water if needed. If you accidentally use too much water, be sure to drain the salad well before serving.

When the salad has rehydrated, dress it with the infused oil, garam masala, 2 tablespoons of lime juice, and a pinch of salt.

Tip
If desired toast 1/4 teaspoon black mustard seeds in 1 teaspoon of the infused oil, heated, and add to the salad with the garam masala, lime juice, and salt. Don’t do this at home, as the black mustard seeds will make the salad really pungent when they’ve sat in the dressing too long. It should be done right before you serve the dish.

[Anonymous]

"As promised."

Thanks, Laurie. That is a great recipe. People like myself would kill for something like that after a week or so out in the hills eating what I generally eat in the name of lightitude And the techniques like black frying chillies and sizzling the black mustard seeds in hot oil would make you right at home in any Indian kitchen.

[Laurie Ann March]

Thank you. My philosophy with food (as you can see) is lightweight and not ultra-light. I just like food too much to do it the super-UL way. That and I look at food as consumable. Of course, what I take really does depend on the trip but having something like this on Day 8 certainly makes it worthwhile. It's also good to hike with a partner—then I can sneak things into his pack… lol.

[Tim Zen]

This recipe looks awesome, but "sambal oelek"?!? Do I have to get a mortar and pestle to make this stuff, or should I just order a jar?

[Laurie Ann March]

I buy it in a little jar at my regular grocery store. I suppose you could make your own but the jar is sooo much easier. I think it was $2.50 or something like that.

[Sarah Kirkconnell]

Timothy, it is sold in most ethnic sections that have Asian products. You can get it online though – my old workplace importfood.com is a great source!

[Author]

Posts