Slow Cooker Urid Bean and Squash Stew

Serves 4, 13 Ingredients, 6 Hours, Simple

Ingredients

250g black urid beans
2 large white onions, halved and thinly sliced
3 garlic cloves, crushed
thumb-sized piece ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp smoked paprika
¼ tsp chilli powder (optional)
2 tbsp chopped coriander to serve
400g tin chopped tomatoes
1 jalapeno chilli, chopped
1 medium sized squash (or 1 bag of pre-prepped squash), chopped into 1cm thick slices or cubes

Method

Soak the beans in cold water overnight. Once you are ready to use them drain and rinse well.
Set your slow cooker to heat.
Warm a little oil in a large pan, then add the onions, garlic and ginger, and cook slowly for 10 mins until the onions are starting to caramelise. Stir in the spices and 100ml hot water. Pour into the slow cooker. Add the tinned tomatoes, urid beans and red chilli. Top up with a further 400ml boiling water. Season well, set the slow cooker to Low and cook for 6 hrs minimum (or if you don’t have a slow cooker cover pan and cook for 2 hrs over a very low heat on the hob). Once cooked, the dhal should be very thick and the beans tender.
Half an hour before you are ready to eat pre-heat an oven to 200C then roast the pumpkin for approx. 20 minutes until soft inside and roasted on outside.
Divide the dhal into four bowls. Top with coriander and roasted pumpkin. You can add flat bread and yoghurt for a more substantial meal.

Notes

If you are pushed on time or lacking energy here are your time savers:

• Use pre-prepped squash, onion, garlic and ginger (find them in the freezer aisle in supermarket).
• Skip the frying stage with the onion and pop all ingredients except the squash into the slow cooker together.
• You can pop the squash into the slow cooker halfway through cooking rather than roasting.