Lentil Curry

Or, what I made for dinner last night and will be eating for a week. Always a good model for students and/or lazy people.

Curry powder can be a bit expensive, but it's worth having on hand. One container of it will last your for a long time anyway. Meijer has a "Simply Organic" brand of spices that is typically cheaper than all of the rest and just as good.


You'll need:

• 1-2 Tbsp of butter for sauteeing
• 1 cup dried lentils or chickpeas that have been soaked in water and a smidgen of vinegar of lemon juice for 8-12 hours (AKA overnight). You could also use a can (about 14 oz.) of chickpeas.
• 1 can (about 14 oz.) of coconut cream or coconut milk, shaken. Check the Asian food aisle for this.
• Enough water, chicken stock or a combination thereof to cover and cook the lentils. I'm guess this is 2-4 cups. Start with 2 cups of your chosen liquid and just add more if you need to.
• 1-2 TBSP curry powder (to taste)
• 1/4-1/2 tsp red chili flakes
• Salt and pepper to taste. More salt than pepper. Salt to balance the sweet coconut.
• 2 tsp or so of turmeric (optional, but tasty)
• Cooked riceto serve

Optional but tasty ingredients:

• Fresh or frozen chopped spinach. A whole packet of frozen, fresh to taste.
• 1 onion, quartered. Quarters sliced thinly.
• 2 carrots sliced thinly

Directions:

In a large-ish pot, melt butter over med-high heat. Add onion, carrots, and a bit of salt and pepper. Continue sauteeing until onions soften a bit and turn translucent. The carrots should soften a little bit too, depending on how thinly they were sliced. Omit this step if you don't want any onions or carrots.

[Meanwhile, cook rice according to package directions, if you haven't already.]

Add liquids, legumes, curry powder, turmeric, chili flakes, salt and pepper to the onion-carrot-butter pot. You could add spinach now or closer to the end of the cooking time. Either way is fine. Bring everything to a boil and then lower it to a high simmer (think medium heat. More than little baby bubbles, but less than violent boiling) Continue to simmer for 20-30 minutes, until lentils or canned chickpeas are tender.

If you're using dried chickpeas, it could take up to an hour. I haven't tried it this way, but be aware that most dried legumes come with a longer cooking time.


EAT. This would be good with mildly fruity yogurt smoothies, especially if you make it really spicy. It would also be good with toasted pita bread (as are most things).