This calabaza squash lentils recipe is a take on Ethiopian Misir Wat, more colloquially known as Ethipian-style red lentils. It's a dish typically eaten amongst an array of family-style dishes and consumed with injera, an Ethiopian flatbread that is used to scoop up individual portions. The quintessential finger food, this meal style is one of my favorites. Which is partially why I hesitate to actually call what I make Misir Wat!
I add as many of the components of berbere that I have on hand to the dish, rather than making a separate spice blend. I don't use butter, ghee, or niter kibbeh, an Ethiopian-spiced clarified butter. And I make more of a rice substitute, than a true stew.
But I am fine with that! When I make Ethiopian food, I tend to dabble more than do anything too traditional. More so because it's difficult to find traditional Ethiopian food in rural Wisconsin. So, my pallet isn't as refined on the matter as I would like. But I am absolutely obsessed with berbere and the pockets of Ethiopian food that I found when I lived in Portland.
At the end of the day, I would just rather approximate the dish with what I have and the foods that I eat, rather than make an exact replica.
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Variations of Calabaza Squash Lentils
Lentils are one of my top 5 throw in the rice cooker foods! They're incredibly simple to make and as spice-packed as you dare to be. They can be absolutely delicious on their own. Although a lot of the time I use them as a side dish or component to a larger recipe. Particularly in salads, nachos, burritos, or with seafood. It's more robust flavor makes it a particularly good rice substitute.
This calabaza squash lentil recipe is a simplified take on Ethiopian Misir Wat with readily available ingredients that I actually have on hand. Misir Wat is an Ethiopian-style red lentil dish that ordinarily contains niter kibbeh, onions, tomatoes, and berbere. I am plum out of tomatoes, but do have the vast majority of spices that go into berbere and have seasoned this dish with calabaza squash, habaneros, garlic, turmeric, red onions, coconut oil, red lentils, cloves, coriander, cumin, fenugreek, salt, and pepper.
I used Roasted Calabaza Squash in this recipe. This takes a couple of hours and requires a calabaza (or other squash or pumpkin of choice) as well as aluminum foil and a baking dish.
Add calabaza squash, habanero, and garlic to a food processor. Purée for 30 seconds, or until smooth.When I roasted the calabaza squash, I puréed half of it and froze the rest whole. If you puréed all of it, simply skip this step and mince the habanero and garlic. I just puréed them all together to saved time, but it isn't necessary! The flavor profile will be the same, either way.
I also used Fresh Turmeric in Olive Oil. You can easily substitute dried turmeric. But there is something particularly refreshing about fresh turmeric! And, if you can find it, mincing it and preserving in olive oil is the key to longevity.
Cook Lentils
Add all of the ingredients to a rice cooker (squash purée with habanero and garlic, turmeric, red onion, coconut oil, spices, salt, pepper, lentils, and water).
Grind whole cloves, coriander, cumin, and fenugreek in a mortar and pestle.A lot of the time I prefer whole spices and grinding them in a mortar and pestle. I used whole cloves, coriander, cumin, and fenugreek. You can easily substitute ground spices and mix and match whatever you have on hand. A lot of the time berbere also includes dried chilis, garlic, onion, turmeric, ginger, peppercorns, allspice, cardamom, nutmeg, cinnamon, etc. I used several of these ingredients already in the recipe, didn't have them in whole spices, or felt like they were redundant. Part of cooking is making what you have and what you like work for you! So, feel free to mix it up to your own needs and tastes.
Press the cook button on the rice cooker. While lentils aren't rice, it does cook the same and oftentimes better than rice in a rice cooker. It typically takes 30-45 minutes.
When the lentils is fully cooked, fluff with a wooden spoon and serve.Do not use a fork or other metal utensil. It will scratch off the nonstick surface on the rice cooker. This will leach teflon into your food and cause future dishes to stick to the bottom!
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