Red Lentil Curry

Bob Holt — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 23:41:08 +0000

This is a recipe that we posted back in April at Bob’s web site. He’s redesigning that one, so it made sense to bring it over here.

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Mia and I had been making weekly stops at Guru The Caterer for his delicious home-style Indian food. In the spirit of DIY and economic common sense, we were interested in trying a little something at home. We found this recipe on Allrecipes.com. It is highly recommended.

ORIGINAL RECIPE BY: Emma Maher

2 cups red lentils
2 medium onions, diced
vegetable oil
4 tablespoons curry paste
2 tablespoons curry powder
2 teaspoons ground turmeric
2 teaspoons ground cumin
2 teaspoons chili powder
2 teaspoons salt
2 teaspoons white sugar
3 cloves minced garlic
2 teaspoons ginger root, minced
1 large (29 ounce) can tomato puree
8 ounces frozen paneer

Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear (this is very important or the lentils will get “scummy”), put the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils tender (add more water if necessary).
While the lentils are cooking: In a large skillet or saucepan, saute the onions and half the garlic in vegetable oil.
While the onions are cooking, combine the curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, rest of the garlic, ginger, and tomato puree in a mixing bowl. Mix well. When the onions are cooked, add the curry mixture to the onions and cook over a high heat stirring constantly for 1 to 2 minutes.
Reduce heat. Add the paneer. Allow the curry base to simmer until the lentils are ready.
When the lentils are tender drain them briefly (they should have absorbed most of the water but you don’t want the curry to be too sloppy). Mix the curry base into the lentils and serve immediately.

NOTES:
* We added 8 oz. of paneer (Indian cheese) to the curry mixture before we added it to the lentils. We served it with basmati rice and some Indian bread that was very much like a whole wheat tortilla.
* The first time around, the lentils were a little dry. The second time around, we doubled the amount of curry sauce. It was a thousand times better. Those new quantities are reflected here.

Mia and Bob » lentils

Red Lentil Curry