Hurry and get some curry!

This is another great recipe I discovered while prowling through other food blogs.  This one comes from one of my favorite blogs, A Pinch Of Yum.  You really should check it out.  There are some amazing recipes on there!  Since Indian food is one of our all time favorites, I thought I try this out.  All the guys loved it and it met with the meatless bent I've been going for.  However, we all commented that adding chicken would be VERY tasty too.  Nothing in this recipe is hard, but cooking the lentils and rice is time consuming, so make sure you leave yourself enough time for that.  The red curry paste is a MUST!  The first time I made this I had garam masala on hand, then second time I didn't.  I'm going to give the ingredients I used to replace garam masala because I'm guessing you all have those on hand, while garam masala might not be so readily available.  (I couldn't find it ANYWHERE at Fred Meyer.)

Hurry and get some curry tonight!

Red Curry Lentils
*Original recipe from A Pinch Of Yum
Ingredients:
* 1 1/2 cups dry lentils
* 1 bay leaf
* 1 clove garlic, minced
* 1/4 cup finely chopped onion
* 5 cups water
* 1/2 a large onion, diced
* 1/2 tsp. cumin
* 1/4 tsp. ground coriander
* 1/4 tsp. ground cardamom
* 1/8 tsp.  cinnamon
* pinch of nutmeg
* pinch of cloves
* 1 tsp. curry powder
* 1/2 tsp. turmeric
* 1/2 tsp. sugar
* 1 tsp. minced garlic
* 1 tsp. minced ginger
* 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper
*  1 14 ounce can of tomato puree (or just puree a bunch of tomatoes from your garden)
* 1/4 cup coconut milk
*  cilantro for garnish
*  brown rice for serving

Method:
1.)  Bring 5 cups of water to a boil.  Add lentils, bay leaf, 1 clove minced garlic & 1/4 cup chopped onion.  Simmer for 45-50 minutes.  Drain, then set aside.

2.)  Melt butter, add the onion and saute for about 5 minutes.
3.)  Add all spices, including curry paste.  Stir-fry for 1-2 minutes, stirring constantly.
4.) Add tomato sauce and stir and simmer until smooth.
 
5.)  Add the lentils and coconut milk.  Stir and simmer another 15-20 minutes.


6.)  Garnish with cilantro and serve over brown rice.

Enjoy!


Click here for printable recipe