Lentils are a solid source of clean, plant based protein.  This curry you can eat hot, as a stew or cold, blended as a zippy dip.  This recipe is simple, fast, low fat and entirely plant based.

We’re big fans of the lentil in our house.  On days when we’re too busy to cook we often pick up our favorite curry in a hurry from the supermarket, a black lentil curry that is boil-in-a-bag good.  This curry inspired the making of big batches of our own lentil curry and the subsequent dip.  Cooked lentils freeze extraordinarily well, so this is now a staple in our freezer to help keep us healthy, despite our hectic schedule.

Change things up with this recipe by using red lentils, black lentils or French green lentils.

“Eat food. Not too much. Mostly plants.”

― Michael Pollan, In Defense of Food: An Eater’s Manifesto

Lentil Curry Recipe

Prep time:  1 hour
Cooking time: 30 minutes
Serves: eight

1 1/2 cups dried lentils, soaked, rinsed
1 tablespoon olive oil, for cooking
2 carrots, diced
1 medium onion, diced
5 cloves of garlic, minced
1/2 cup tomato paste
5 – 6 cups vegetable stock
2 teaspoons of kosher salt (or to taste)
2 1/2 teaspoons garam marsala spice
1 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon cumin powder
1/2 teaspoon dried thyme
1/2 teaspoon dried crushed chilies
2 teaspoons fresh chopped coriander

Method

1. Soak lentils in warm water at room temperature for an hour or more, then rinse and discard any debris. Lentils will approximately double in volume after soaking and cooking.
2. In a large pot over medium heat, add olive oil and bring to just under smoking point.  Add carrot and cook, stirring occasionally for about three minutes then add onion, and a couple tablespoons of water and continue to sweat and steam vegetables for two minutes.  Add garlic, stir and cook stirring to ensure nothing burns.
3. Add tomato paste to vegetables and stir to coat, add soaked lentils and half of the vegetable stock, stir to combine. Add salt, pepper, garam marsala, curry, cumin, thyme & chilies and stir and cook for about fifteen minutes, adding stock as needed until lentils are tender and stew is to a nice, juicy consistency.   Add coriander at the very end, off heat, this will keep it fresh and green while still adding brightness.

At this point you can serve hot, with your choice of sides or you can break out the immersion blender, or food processor and give it a quick buzz for a healthy, low fat dip.  Serve with fresh vegetables  bread or crisps.  Or try Coco’s Curried Naan-za with the lentil curry as a base.  More meal time fun.