Red Lentil Curry
As I get ready to wind down for the summer season–time to reboot/refresh–I thought I’d share a vegetarian dish that would be nice to find in your fridge. Of course, you have to prepare it first but as the summer days tend to lose their structure it can be more than convenient, even comforting, to come home to something nutritious that just needs to be reheated in the microwave. This Red Lentil Curry is a nice lunch or delicious dinner eaten after a Wednesday night swim meet (this summer will be my last featuring those) or some sunset pickle ball (becoming more my speed). The curry is filling but not heavy and is warming, in the best way.
I made this Red Lentil Curry for the first time over Zoom with the women of Har Shalom in conjunction with KindWorks. As with the weekly KindWorks KindSoup program, the intention was to feed my family and then have enough left over to share. The recipe below will yield approximately 3-4 quarts of delicious Red Lentil Curry that you can serve over rice, freeze and/or share with someone who could use a bright spot in their day.
Don’t be put off by the long ingredients list, you will likely be able to find everything in your pantry. I enjoyed my curry with an extra squeeze of lemon, a sprinkle of Maldon sea salt and some hot sauce.
And with this, I will say, “See you later!” I have a couple of new cookbooks on order. I plan to read them on the beach, cook my way through and comeback in September newly inspired. I will be an “empty nester” when I return. A term that’s getting a lot of play in my conversations these days but that still feels quite unreal. After being a full-time mom (meaning having kids under my roof) for 21.5 years I can’t imagine what the shift into part-time momdom (having kids a phone call, text or roadtrip away) is going to feel like. I am equal measures excited and sad, as I really love being on mom duty. I’m used to starting my day at 6:45am by making sandwiches and trying to initiate conversation with a sleepy-eyed child. And I look forward to our nightly ritual of untraditional dinners–almost always a new recipe, on account of you–in front of a favorite show that we are watching as a family.
But I guess that’s the thing. Families grow, stretch, shrink and morph into new shapes throughout your life. And as they do, we do too. So that’s it. I will look forward to personal growth and just maybe that will include learning how to take better food photographs. Wouldn’t that be nice?!
Have a fantastic summer!
Red Lentil Curry
Ingredients
- 2 Tbls coconut oil or neutral flavored oil
- 1 yellow onion finely chopped
- 8 cloves garlic minced
- 2 inch piece of ginger peeled and grated
- 1 Tbls ground turmeric
- 1-2 serrano peppers diced
- 1 Tbls ground cumin
- 1/2 Tbls ground coriander
- 1/2 Tbls curry powder
- 1/2 Tbls garam masala
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- salt and pepper to taste
- 2 c red lentils rinsed
- 2 qts low-sodium vegetable broth
- 1 28oz can diced tomatoes
- 1 13.5oz can full-fat coconut milk
- 6 Tbls almond butter or peanut butter
- 1 lemon juiced, plus more to taste
- 1 c fresh cilantro roughly chopped
- steamed rice for serving (optional)
- hot sauce for serving (optional)
Instructions
- Heat oil on medium high. Once shimmering, add onion, garlic, ginger, turmeric and Serrano pepper. Cook 4-5 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add cumin, coriander, curry powder, garam masala and chili powder. Cook 1-2 minutes, stirring.
- Add broth. Scrape browned bits from bottom of the pot. Add lentils and tomatoes. Stir, reduce heat to low. Cover and simmer 30 minutes until lentils are cooked.
- Stir in coconut milk, almond butter, salt and pepper to taste. Cook on low, uncovered for approximately 10 minutes until thickened and creamy.
- Turn off the heat and stir in lemon juice and cilantro. Serve over rice (if desired) and with an extra squeeze of lemon, sprinkle of salt and dash of hot sauce.