Masoor Macaroni

As mentioned earlier, seemingly odd food combinations will show up on my blog. The reasoning is equal parts necessity and curiosity. Indian cuisine is my favorite and one of my comfort foods is masoor dal aka Indian red lentil soup.

If I'm not eating masoor dal alone, I usually pair it with rice (I don't eat chapatis very often) either on the side or together in khichdi. However, I didn't have any rice in the pantry, and with current spending already $70+ over budget, I went with macaroni. I've never paired it with Indian food, but needs must.

It turned out well! I had a satisfying meal and plenty of leftovers for lunch!

Masoor Macaroni Recipe

This recipe features what I actually used, according to what I had on hand. Feel free to improvise!

1 lb macaroni, dry

1 cup masoor dal / red lentils, dry 

3 cups assorted frozen veggies

2 tbsp canola oil

2 tsp cumin seeds

2 tsp mustard seeds

1/2 tsp hing (feel free to use less)

2 takeout red chili flake packs

¼ cup nutritional yeast flakes

1 tsp Better than Bouillon vegetable base

1 takeout soy sauce pack

Boil the macaroni for 8 minutes. While the macaroni boils, lightly fry the cumin, mustard, and hing in the oil. When the mustard seeds begin to pop, add the red chili flakes and nutritional yeast. Turn the heat off. The residual heat will finish toasting the flakes without burning them. Add 3 cups of water, soy sauce, and vegetable base, bring to a boil, then turn down to simmer and cook for 10 minutes.

Drain the macaroni and set aside uncovered while the masoor is still cooking. Once the masoor has cooked for 10 minutes, turn the heat up to medium, add the frozen veggies, cover the pot and cook for 5 more minutes. Mix everything together and dig in!

Makes 5 portions, each with ~ 2 servings of vegetables

Cripps pink apples are a perfect way to finish a spicy meal!

Even if you're not a big fan of legumes, you should give red lentils a try. Unlike most of pulses, they don't need to be soaked and cook in less than 20 minutes! Plus, 1/3 a cup of dried lentils count as 1 cup cooked = 2 servings of vegetables.

Indian food can be intimidating to many because of the wide array of spices. And for someone on a budget, it can be prohibitively expensive to begin with zero Indian spices in your pantry. However, I highly recommend making a trip to an Indian grocery store and stocking up on 5 basic spices: cumin seeds, mustard seeds, coriander seeds, hing, and turmeric. If you don't have cayenne powder or red chili flakes, grab some chili powder at the Indian grocery store, too!

Since August 1st and 2nd were so terrible budget-wise, I made a conscious effort to keep expenditures low today. I woke up early and used the subway (already accounted for by the monthly $75 pass) instead of Lyft both to and from work, I brought leftovers for lunch. I didn't buy any drinks or snacks during the day. I managed a completely $0 spending day!

$10 under budget for the day
$63.10 over budget overall

Servings of fruits and vegetables
1 serving, lunch - macaroni with arrabbiata sauce
4 servings, snack - 2 cups of low sodium V8
2 servings, dinner - masoor macaroni
1 serving, dessert - apple (bought last week)
8 servings, almost got it!