The night before…
As you chop your vegetables, get some basmati rice going. (It’s not a required accompaniment, since it is more of a stew than a curry, but I liked having some rice to go with it.) Let cool and refrigerate when done. Sauté the onion in the oil over medium heat for about 5 minutes. Add the peppers and sauté for another 2 minutes or so. Add the garlic, ginger, garam masala, cumin, and turmeric and stir to combine. Add the potato and sesame seeds, stir again to combine, and remove from the heat. Let cool, then transfer to a container and refrigerate. Go ahead and set out your lentils and cans of chickpeas, tomatoes, tomato purée, and vegetable broth so it’s all ready to go the next morning. If you don’t have canned broth, dissolve a veggie bouillon cube in 2 cups hot water, let cool, then refrigerate.
The morning of…
Mist the bowl of your slow cooker with cooking spray, or use a slow cooker liner for easy cleanup. Combine the vegetable mixture, chickpeas, lentils, tomatoes, tomato purée, and vegetable broth in the bowl. Cover and set to cook on low. If your slow cooker has settings like mine that allow you to select the number of hours you want, you can set it for either 8 or 10, depending on when you want to eat.
8-10 hours later…
When you get home from work (or get back from doing whatever you did all day), stir the yogurt into the stew. Cook on low for 15 more minutes as you reheat your rice. The yogurt adds just the slightest hint of creaminess. Season with salt to taste, then ladle the stew into a bowl, top with a bit of rice, sprinkle with cilantro if you’ve got it, and serve.
The lentils dissolve almost completely, acting as a natural thickener. The tender chickpeas and potatoes play off each other perfectly against the mild sweetness of the tomato, and the sesame seeds add a nice, unexpected little crunch. It was hearty and filling—a delicious meal to come home to (and to eat for lunch all week).
Originally Submitted
8/28/2010
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