Easy Weeknight Curried Lentils: A Non-Recipe
"Recipe" Alert! Most of what I cook at home is pretty simple and involves no written recipe. Like these red lentils: they're warm, filling, and loaded with fiber, plant-based protein, and a bunch of other good-for-you vitamins and minerals. And they cook up fast.
The Non-Recipe
1. Chop up a medium yellow onion into small dice.
2. Heat a little bit of olive oil in a heavy-bottomed medium size pot. Maybe a tablespoon’s worth. Add the onion and let it cook down on medium-low heat till translucent.
3. Mince 2 cloves of garlic.
4. Raise the heat a little, and stir the garlic in the pot for about 30 seconds.
5. Add some curry powder and garam masala (a beautiful Indian spice blend)- plus some red chili powder if you like it spicy. Sprinkle in some mustard seeds, too- anywhere from 1 to 3 teaspoons. Stir it all around so it coats the onions and garlic. Warning: your kitchen will start to smell real good. Oh! and toss in a little salt. Maybe a teaspoon, maybe a little more.
6. Measure 2 dry cups of red lentils and rinse them. (Do this while the onions are cooking down). Add them to the pot with 3 1/2 cups water.
7. Bring the mixture to a boil, then lower the heat to a simmer and partially cover the pot.
8. About 25 minutes later, turn off the heat and stir in about a half of a can of full fat coconut milk. Taste for salt.
9. For a bit of texture, serve with some chopped tomato.
And that's it!
If you had this dish with a little brown rice and a big green salad, that would be truly killer.
