Recipe

Asia → 🇹🇱 Timor-Leste → Dili
Batar Da'an
Timorese · easy · serves 6
prep 15 min · cook 75 min
~204 cal · 8g protein · 33g carbs · 5g fat (estimated, per serving)
🍽️
Rustic stew of corn, mung beans, and pumpkin
🇹🇱 Dili
Batar da'an — "corn and beans" in Tetum — is everyday sustenance in Timor-Leste, one of the world's youngest nations. Field corn, mung beans, and chunks of pumpkin are simmered slowly until soft and stew-like, a plain, nourishing pot that reflects the island's subsistence gardens and gentle, unhurried cooking.
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Ingredients
Serves 6 —
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1.5 cups dried corn kernels (or hominy), soaked overnight
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1 cup mung beans, soaked
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1 lb pumpkin or squash, cubed
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1 onion
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3 cloves garlic
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to taste a little chili
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2 tbsp oil
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to taste salt
Instructions
1
Simmer the drained corn in fresh water for about 40 minutes until it begins to soften.
2
Add the mung beans and cook 20 minutes more.
3
Soften the onion, garlic, and chili in the oil and stir them in.
4
Add the pumpkin and simmer 15 minutes until everything is tender and slightly thickened.
5
Season and serve warm on its own or with rice.
Dili home cooking.
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🌏 While it simmers — know your destination
📍
Dili. A young nation's harbor capital of corn and pumpkin.
🗺️
Timor-Leste. A young island nation of corn, beans, and pumpkin.
🌍
Asia. From street-cart woks to slow monastery kitchens.
The story behind this dish is up top — worth a read while the pot works.
👩‍🍳
Richard Moore & Kelsey Tucker
Recipes cooked, tested, and researched by the creators of Spin the Globe. How we build our recipes →
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