Jan 19, 2009
I'm quite surprised this recipe is called "Moroccan" as the significant ingredients aren't used in Moroccan cooking (my hubster is Moroccan so I know Moroccan cooking). With that said - I altered the recipe as follows: I used brown (aka green) lentils as these are more traditional (and added a handful of red lentils for texture), 1 heaping tablespoon of ginger paste, 1 can of red kidney beans, 1 can northern white beans, 1 can diced tomatoes and 1 can stewed tomatoes. Do NOT use cardamom or garam masala (these are INDIAN spices not Moroccan). I strongly recommend salt/pepper to taste, cumin, and RAS EL HANOUT. Ras el hanout is a classic blend of Moroccan spices - similar to garam masala but different. Ras el hanout varies from one Moroccan to another but generally it's the following spices (usually whole spices all ground together but you can use the ground versions as well):
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1 t cumin, 1 t ginger, 1 t salt, 1 t pepper, 1/2 t cinnamon, 1/2 t coriander, 1/2 t allspice, 1/4 t cloves and a pinch of saffron >>>
I pressure cooked everything together for about 10 minutes and voila - delicious! Here's a helpful cooking tip: If cooking on the stove (or even the crockpot)- the lentils will cook faster if you do NOT add the salt or tomatoes until the end... salt and the acidity of the tomatoes prevents beans/lentils from softening which will prolong the cooking time. ***UPDATE*** Recipe with Indian spices is good too - make sure to double the spice though.
—Serena
