Eggplant - Potato - Brown Lentil Stew with Madagascar Pink Rice (No Added Fat)

I've enjoy cooking lentil stews and dhals, as I described, for example, in December 2014. I thought that I'd make a double serving so that we could send half to our neighbors who just had a baby.

Lentils cook in a 1 part to 1.5-2 part water ratio for 15-20m. I wanted something thick, so initially chose 1.5x water for 20m, but I put a lot of ingredients in, so added another half cup of water (with 2 cups lentils, it ended up being a 1:2 ratio).

By the way, I recently got a third Instant Pot, the Duo Plus 60 and donated my original Duo 60. I've used the Duo Plus 60 in making yogurt but tonight was the first time I've used it for dinner. Here is what I did.


Ingredients

• 2 cups brown (which I used) or green lentils
• 4 cups water
• Approx. 4 cups potato in 3/8" cubes (I used 3 medium Yukon Gold potatoes and ended up with approx. 4 1/3 cups chopped potato)
• Medium eggplant cut into 3/8" cubes (about 2 cups)
• 3 medium carrots halved and then cut into 3/8" slices (about 2 cups)
• 2 cloves garlic, finely (1/8") chopped
• 1t ginger, finely (1/8") chopped (I ended up skipping as, alas, we were out of ginger)
• 3/4 t fenugreek seeds (added in this small quantity to not add much flavor but to enhance lactation for our neighbors)
• 1/4 t turmeric
• Medium bell pepper 
• 2 cups onion cut into approx. 3/8" cubes ( maybe 2/3 of a medium onion)
• 3/4 t salt
• 1/2 t freshly ground black pepper
• 4t lemon or lime juice

Process

1. I put all of the ingredients except the bell pepper, onion, salt, black pepper, and lime juice into my Instant Pot pressure cooker and cooked for 20m.
2. While the pressure cooking was underway, I roasted the bell pepper by putting it directly on the gas range flame, turning occasionally till charred throughout (about 5 minutes), then I put in a brown bag that I closed.
3. After the cooking was done, I prepared the roasted pepper by running it under cold water and rubbing the char off, cutting it to let the water inside drain in the sink, removing the membranes, and then chopping into approx. 3/4" squares (about 1 cup).
4. I waited a few minutes and gently released pressure, then mixed in the onion, salt, black pepper, and lime juice, as well as roasted bell pepper.

I served with some Madagascar Pink rice (1 part rice to 1 3/4-2 parts water, a vegan bouillon cube, and a dash of salt, simmered for 20m). Yesterday, for the vegetarian society 4th of July potluck party, I made watermelon gazpacho soup and had some leftovers, which I served as a kind of salad to complete the meal.

Results

Pending

Ideas for the future

Pending