Curried Lentils

My pantry has been getting a bit out of hand lately. I am one of those people who buys random things, sticks them in the pantry & then finds them 3 years later because I also always buy all the ingredients for a recipe if I decide to make it. This leads to a big mess in the pantry (though Cherry organizes it much better these days) and to wasted food if I don’t find it in time. I bought red lentils a WHILE ago & just got around to making something with them last week. Gotta love www.allrecipes.com for their Ingredient Search which makes finding recipes so very easy!

Red Lentil Curry
addapted from allrecipes.com

• 2 cups red lentils
• 1 large onion, diced
• 1 Tbsp vegetable oil
• 2 Tbsp curry paste (I used mild)
• 1 Tbsp curry powder
• 1 tsp ground tumeric
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp chili powder
• 1 tsp salt
• 1 tsp white sugar
• 1 tsp minced garlic
• 1 tsp ginger root, minced
• 1 can stewed tomatoes
• 1/2 zuchini, 1/4ed & sliced
• 1 cup mushrooms, quartered

Directions:

1. Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear (very important, don’t skip). Put the lentils in a pot with water & cover. Simmer until the lentils are tender (add more water if necessary). This took about 35 minutes for me. Do all the other steps while the lentils are cooking.
2. In a large skillet or saucepan, caramelize the onions in the vegetable oil.
3. Combine the curry paste, curry powder, tumeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic & ginger in a small bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
4. Stir in the tomatoes, zucchini and mushrooms and reduce heat. Allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.
5. When the lentils are tender, drain them briefly. Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.

Recipe notes: I was doubtful that Dewey would like this recipe but he did. It is a spicy recipe but it’s not hot (if that makes sense). I could have used more heat but I would be afraid to use all Hot Curry past b/c it might make it too hot. I served this with brown rice (I used Uncle Ben’s Brown Rice Express b/c it microwaves in 2 minutes), whole wheat pita and a dollop of fat free yogurt. A very good, inexpensive, healthy dish!

Oh, and no picture again b/c my camera was dead when I made this. OOOOPPS!

Don’t forget to check out what else is cooking this Wednesday over at Shan’s!