SCRUMPTIONS MORISH Jamaican Pumpkin and Lentil Curry Stew Vegan INSTANT POT

I'm starting to love the Instant Pot for a couple of reasons, quite possibly unique to me.  I love my slow cooker but I don't like the idea of the amount of time and electricity it takes.  Also I'm not super super nuts about leaving it unattended either.  BUT i love the idea of flavours blending and amalgamating over time in a stew.   Then there's the smell.  Koreans and Indians have aversions to smells in their house.  Hence alot of houses designed specifically for Koreans or Indians often have what's called a "spice kitchen".  That's a small kitchen next to the real kitchen, about the size of an old fashioned butler's station.  The difference being there is a full oven in there and ventilation and it's fully enclosed.  That's because not only do Koreans cook smelly foods, we all do, hello? garlic! but Koreans like to use spices and oils that are very penetrating and clingy, particularly sesame oil.  It latches on to all synthetics.  So back to my Instant Pot.  I get the long stew effect without the long cooking time, which not only uses alot of electricity but alot of cooking smells in the house.  Not only does the Instant Pot do it quickly but once the pressure seal is up, the smells aren't coming out.  Like what I call the curry Lamp Berger into the house.  Also, I'm a bit of a germaphobe and the idea of food left freaks me out, like when you delay cook a slow cooker.  With the Instant Pot, I prep the night before or the same day and it's ready fast enough for that night's meal. 

This is a bit of a take on a stew I've done before in a slow cooker but I wanted to document for the Instant Pot. 

Jamaican Pumpkin and Lentil Curry Stew


2 lbs or 3-4 cups Jamaican Pumpkin (or Butternut Squash), 1 inch cubes (Sweet Potatoes will disintegrate)
3 medium-small Onions Diced

2 c Red Lentils washed and soaked overnight (you can do less but then don't exceed the 50% mark)
4 cloves Garlic minced
1 inch Ginger, brunois (means julienned then diced)
1 large can diced Tomatoes
3 cups Low Sodium Vegetable Broth (maybe 1 cup extra water after cooking IF there's room)

1 t Black Mustard Seeds
2 t ground Coriander
1 t ground Cumin
2 t ground Turmeric
3 Kaffir Lime Leaves (optional but gives awesome curry flavour)
2-3 Jamaican Curry Powder
1 t Salt
Black Pepper
2-3 T ground Mushroom Powder (a necessity for Vegan/Vegetarian cooking to add depth)

1 can Coconut Milk (if you like it extra, add 2 cans, I wish I had but actually it was still DELICIOUS!)

Directions:

Don't exceed the 2/3 mark.... the annoying thing I've discovered is the less the 'air space' in the pot, if the contents are largely solid, the longer the pot takes to get to pressure.  Lentils will take like 10 minutes or less in the Instant Pot but I was worried about the Pumpkin, so I set it for 20 minutes and it took more than 20 minutes for the little pressure sealing thing to pop up.  BUT in the process I discovered you can add a minute here and there.  My Cuisinart Slow Cooker and doesn't do that.  You have to shut and restart on mine anyway.  So I kept adding 3 minutes until it sealed and then added 5 minutes so it would be cooking at least 5 minutes under pressure. In total, I added 9 minutes. Probably didn't have to but I'm learning with this thing.  All the veg were well done and probably a little too done so maybe don't add the time.  I let it Natural Release.... again because of the lack of air space, meant that the Natural Release happened in like 5 minutes instead of the 20 it takes when I make a small portion of congee.

I was originally worried I didn't have enough Pumpkin so I added half a Sweet Potato.  In the end I had too much.  Anyhoo, when I added the Veg to the Pot, I had already mixed up the Sweet Potato and the Pumpkin so some Sweet Potato got in.  Under pressure for the amount of time I put on, it basically dissolved.  Which might be okay for you because some Squash soup recipes used canned puree.  The contrast of the smooth thickened broth and Squash pieces was nice.  I put the extra in a Ziplock and put it in the Freezer for a green curry another day.


This was SOOOOO good.  I mean sometimes when I make a big AND THIS IS A BIG pot like this, I'm sick of it by the end of the week, to be honest.  Not this time.  This makes like 10-12 servings.

INSTANT POT - Vegan No Fat Split Pea Soup

Vegan, No Fat, Instant Pot Pea Soup

I'm on a mission to figure out why I can't manage to appropriately soften dried Yellow Peas.   Slow cooker results were variable and still aldente no matter how many hours and hours they cooked.  I thought this has got to be it!  Instant Pot will save to the day.  Well, yes and no.  It made homemade soup made the day of seam achievable.  I mean even with the slow cooker, it seemed like a big deal and even though I do it alot, I was never nuts about the idea of an unattended appliance for 6 hours, particularly since it gets SOOOO hot to the touch.  The Instant pot is slightly warm on the sides but the lid where it's not plastic does get hot.  I love the idea of flavours melding for hours but I don't like my house getting a dousing into the pores of food smells and in the winter it's highly inefficient, heatingwise, to leave a fan running all day to suck out the heat.


This pea soup is fast and super easy.  I did run a hand blender in it at the end but you don't have to.

Vegan No Fat Split Pea Soup

2 cups or 1 lb dried Yellow Split Peas
1 medium/large Onion, minced
4 cloves Garlic, sliced
1 large Carrot, diced SMALL... i don't like big chunks of carrot in a soup... blech
1 large or 2 medium stalks of Celery, diced small too
2 small Potatoes
1 1/2 t Himalayan Salt
2-3 t dried Thyme
1 1/2 T fresh Rosemary Leaves..  Now they are from brown woody stems, you'll want to strip the needles off and chop them.  If they are from green stems (we keep our rosemary indoors in the winter) then just remove the needles from the stems and just throw them in.
Black Pepper
2 Bay Leaves

8 cups of liquid:
4 cups Veggie Stock
4 cups Water with...
1 No/Low Salt Veggie Stock Cube
2 T Dried Mushroom Powder.... now, I'm writing it this way because this is how I made it and it was delicious and I want to remember what I did.  You can just as easily just do Veggie Broth

The night before.....

Wash and rinse the Yellow Peas and set aside in a large bowl with Water... make sure the water is at least a couple of inches above the peas.  I changed the water a couple of times during the evening but that's just me.  I like to avoid the scum in the pot.

I minced the vegetables and put them in a sealable container until the next morning... EXCEPT the Potatoes.  I don't want them to brown.  I just washed them and set them aside where I wouldn't forget to put them in :D  the next morning, peel and dice them into 1cm cubes

The morning of....

Drain and rinse the peas.... throw out any discoloured ones.

Dump into the instant pot with all the veg and veg cubes.  I minced the cubes into a powder since I won't be able to stir and didn't want chunks.  Add the Water/Broth.  Add the Potatoes.  Stir to combine.

Close the Instant Pot and set the vent to Sealed.  I chose the soup but could have picked beans/chili but this time I chose soup.  Alot of recipes I came across said 15 minutes ... quite a few.  No way in heck... maybe it's Canadian Yellow Spit Peas or the air pressure in my house but there's now way that that particular legume is getting cooked in 15 minutes.  I set the soup for 30 minutes.  I set a delay timer too.... WORD OF ADVICE. unlike my  rice cooker or my bread machine.  The delay timer on an Instant Pot is the time before the cooking starts.....NOT THE WARM UP and not including the TIME TO COOk.  The Rice Cooker and the Bread Maker, interpret delay for the time it should be ready and the time to cook or bake in included.  But for an instant pot a delay of 9 hours means after 9 hours, it will start the warm up of 3-5 minutes... or even more if the contents are cold or it's really full.  then the time to cook AND THEN natural release.  So when I got home, the soup was just done.  Literally.  I had hoped it was well after natural release .

Since the kids were hungry, I manually vented and then ran the hand blender for all of 30 s.  I wanted to leave texture but I wanted some creaminess.

I closed the pot and with the heat of the soup, it sealed again... which was good cuz dad and I ate later.

I may cut back some of the liquid next time but just for density of the soup.  Not the flavour.  It was SOOOO flavourful and comforting.  I will make this again and again which is why I wrote it with the way to achieve 8 cups of broth I did.

CREAMY VEGAN cream of MUSHROOM soup

Vegan Plantbased Cream of Mushroom Soup

This couldn't be easier and couldn't be tastier.  You will need a good blender like a Ninja or a Vitamix.  A handblender will not work on the Cashews to get them creamy.  A regular blender should work but you will need to soak the Raw Cashews overnighT.  Did you think going vegan or vegetarian meant you can't have this famous comfort food?  Not at all.  Despite no fat or salt added this was amazing.  Double for full batch but I only had 1 c of Raw Cashews left at the time.  USE RAW not roasted.  I used dried mushrooms instead of Veggie Broth because I wanted an extra Mushroom kick.  If you don't have them, then just use a low/no salt Veggie broth.

VEGAN CREAM OF MUSHROOM SOUP

1 c Raw Cashews
4 c Water/Veggie Broth + upto a cup but taste as you go.
1/2 - 3/4 c dried mushrooms (optional if you plan to use Veggie Broth)
1 1/2 t dried Thyme
2 sprigs, thumb sized, Rosemary (leave out if you don't have fresh, you don't want dried needles in your creamy soup)
1/2 medium Onion (tennis ball sized), diced or sliced... it's all going in the blender.
4 cloves Garlic minced
2 pints sliced Mushrooms (I used Cremini)
Black pepper
1/4 t Cayenne (optional)


Put your RAW Cashews in a bowl or big measuring cup with clove of Garlic sliced in half and 2 T of the dried Mushrooms.  Cover with boiling water and set aside.

In a large measuring 4 cup, or a bowl, put the rest of the dried Mushrooms and a sprig of Rosemary and pour over the 4 c of water and set aside.  It should get as dark as a strong cup of tea.

In a large non-stick skillet or ceramic lined Creuset or dutch oven.  It is essential it is non-stick because I'm not using oil.  Put on medium high heat.  Add the Onions.  Don't move right away.  You'll just get frustrated.  Wait and then move.  They will brown.  If you're stressed, add a spoonful of mushroom water.  They will brown.  Toward the browning, add the Garlic just until softened. Toss the lot into the blender jug and set aside.

Spread out the mushrooms in a single layer as much as you can. Sprinkle over the Thyme and add the Rosemary.  Do not chop the Rosemary.  You'll want to pull it out.   Do not touch until you see water start to blister on the surface and flip.  Add more mushrooms as the first batch starts to shrink.  Get them all nice and brown.  If some get extra brown, you can start tossing them into your blender jug.  This will take some time but trust me, they will brown without oil!  if you're a bit worried about sticking, you've moved them too soon but you can splash in a spoonful of Mushroom water.  Set aside about a quarter of the mushrooms and put in after blending for texture.  Pull out the Rosemary and toss the lot into the blender jug.  I then like to swirl about half a cup of the mushroom water around in the pan to get all the fond, sticky goodness out of the ban and pour into the blender.

Pour the Cashew and the other stuff it's soaking with into the blender.  Add the mushroom water.  If you are worried about grit from the mushrooms, you can pour through a seive lined with cheese cloth.  I would do this if you are using Shitake from an asian market.  I had high quality 'organic gourmet blend' from costco so I did not bother.  I let the soaked mushrooms go in too.  Blend on high for at least 2-3 minutes.  Now, you'll want to keep blending thinking, hey it looks grainy.  Well, unless you have a super weak blender or you didn't soak your cashews enough, it probably isn't.  It's just the speckles of the dark mushrooms.  Test it before you create a pasty gunk and burn out your blender.

Pour back into the Creuset you fried the mushrooms in and heat through.  Add the mushrooms you set aside.  Serve hot. 

It was amazing. 

Green Lentil Coconut Curry Stew - Plant Based - Slow Cooker

January means Plant Based Cleanse.  Why cleanse? because I ascribe to the Forks Over Knives movie/documentary regarding also cutting out all added salt, sugar, processed foods (white flour), coffee and fats/oils.  We're getting better and better every year so that the January is easier and easier.  We actually do a Vegan September without the other restrictions.  But the Salt!  and the Oils! 

This stew was done without a reference.  Just something I ate at my sister's as leftovers.  It's an approximate until she sends me the recipe.

Green Lentil Coconut Curry Stew - Plant Based - Slow Cooker

2 c dried Green Lentils, washed
1 T dried Cumin
1 T Curry Powder
1 T dried ground Coriander
1/2 T Tumeric
1/2 T Cumin Seeds
1/2 T Black Pepper
1 t Cayenne (optional)
1 t Fennel Seeds
6 cloves Garlic, minced
1 medium or 2 small Onions, diced


4 c Vegetable Broth, no salt
1 large can diced Tomatoes

1 package of Frozen Spinach, thawed as much as you can while prepping
1 can Coconut Milk, look for labels with nothing but Coconut Extract at Water, Arroyo is the best

Layer all the ingredients upto the Tomatoes into the slow cooker and cook for 4 hours on high.  Add the Spinach after it comes to a boil around 2-3 hour mark.  Add the Coconut Milk in the last half hour.

This stew was so full and flavourful that I dare anyone to say that something was missing in the way of fat or salt.  Serve over Brown Rice.

Slow Cooker VEGAN Butternut Squash Leek and Lentil Stew

I spent a week in Vegas this past week for the CES show, Consumer Electronics Show.  The biggest Consumer tech show.  While the gadgets and the trends were amazing.  The Vegan choices are very lacking.  I was even willing to just go Vegan during that week and forego all the other things like sugar, oil and salt free.  I only found a few.  But a huge tip, all Wynn restaurants in all Wynn hotels offer both a VEGETARIAN and VEGAN menu.  That's right, I didn't say option.  I said MENU.  We went to the Costa di Mare and I had basically conceded that there are only so many salads and Starbucks Cold pressed Celery and Kale juices I can take.  I will eat what I want because I'm in one of the nicest seafood restaurants in town.  But I had heard of the rumour of Steve Wynn's dedication to offering something for all his clients, and after I had already chosen in my head the Scallop and the Spider Crab Ravioli I thought I'd check and asked our waiter, do you have a Vegan option?  He brought over a whole menu.  I had the Warm Chickpea cake and the Vegan Ravioli with Chanterelle.  Quite possibly the best Ravioli I've had in ages.  I was worried. Vegan Rav can taste like play dough.

But now, back on track.  I made a stew with the Leeks I bought like 2 weeks ago.  I had premixed a Ras Al Hanout, so please look at the Spice Mix from my Moroccan Stew and multiply it by using Tablespoons instead of Teaspoons and keep in a container and shake vigourously.  I cut back on the Cinnamon though.  I found that if I had added a Butternut Squash or Carrot, the natural Sugars made the Cinnamon stand out too much.  I'll post a recipe for my Ras Al Hanout soon.  Sorry.

Slow Cooker Vegan Butternut Squash Leek and Lentil Stew

1 large Butternut Squash, diced, approximatley 4 cups
1 medium Onion, Sliced
2 large Leeks, sliced until the light green part, soaked in water and rinsed 2 or 3 times to wash away grit and sand
4 cloves Garlic
2 inches of Fresh Ginger, minced, (I wouldn't mind julienne, matchsticks, but hubbo doesn't like chunks of it)
1 lb or 2 1/4 c Red Lentils, rinsed and drained
2 T pulverized Wild Mushrooms or Porcini Powder (you can use just 1 but I like the early flavour)
2 T Ras Al Hangout mix (Recipe to come.  OR check out the Spice mix in my previous Moroccan stew and double it)
1 T Curry Powder
2 l Vegetable Broth
Fresh Ground Pepper
1/2 t Salt (optional) actually, if you were doing a non cleanse diet you should probably put like 1 1/2 t salt.
1/2 t Red Chili Flakes (optional)

2 cups Kale leaves (no stems) washed and chopped into bitesized pieces. (optional)

Layer in ingredients as you chop.  I like to try to intersperse the aromatics.  And pour in the Broth until just at level.  You might need less.  Don't use more than the level of the Slow Cooker allows.

Cook in Slow Cooker on HIGH for 6 hours.  If you're around when the cooker is about done, put in the Kale if it fits, for the last 15 minutes.  If there is no room wilt it in the Microwave and serve in bowl.... or  leave it out.