Dal Gosht - Red Lentils and Meat Stew

Dal Gosht

Lentils are a central part of Indian meals at our home. Every now and then in the summer time when it's too humid to cook, it makes sense to combine lentils with lamb, beef or chicken to shorten the time spent at the stove. This hearty stew combined with any vegetable dish and a fresh salad makes for a quick and easy dinner.

I've used chicken pieces which had previously been marinated in oil, ginger, garlic and paprika and frozen. It's defrosted overnight in the fridge and brought to room temperature before cooking. The chicken curry is cooked separately from the lentils and then combined to make this stew.

My sister gave me a package of Moroccan Tagine spices (thank you, Rene) which I used to spice this dish. The ingredients listed on the package include coriander, cinnamon, cardamom, dehydrated garlic, red pepper flakes, black pepper, basil, cumin, nutmeg and cloves. This sounds very similar to the spices found in North Indian garam masala, which is a good substitute. 

Ingredients:

1 lb. meat or chicken, cut in bite-sized pieces 

2 tsp. ginger paste

1 tsp. garlic paste

1 tsp. Kashmiri mirch/paprika/chili powder

2 Tbsp. vegetable oil

4 Tbsp. vegetable oil

1 cinnamon stick

2 star anise

1/2 tsp. shah jeera or cumin seeds

1 large onion, diced

3 medium tomatoes, diced

1/2 tsp. garam masala or 1 tsp. tagine spices

1 cup red lentils, rinsed and drained

4 cups water

1 serrano pepper, diced

1/4 tsp. turmeric powder

salt to taste

deep fried onions for garnish

Directions:

1. Marinate meat/chicken in next 4 ingredients for at least 2 hours or overnight and bring to room temperature.
2. Cook lentils with water, hot peppers, turmeric and salt to taste & set aside.
3. Heat 4 Tbsp. oil over medium-high heat and sputter cinnamon, star anise and shah jeera.
4. Add onions and stir-fry until translucent.
5. Add marinated chicken and stir-fry until chicken is golden brown.
6. Stir in diced tomatoes  and tagine spices and stir-fry until oil resurfaces.
7. Pour lentils over chicken and simmer on low heat for 20 minutes.
8. Transfer to a serving dish and garnish with fried onions.

Serve over steamed basmati/jasmine rice or chapatis.