Curry Red Lentils
Red lentils take 15 minutes to cook, which makes it a great go-to dish.
Ingredients
- ½ cup dry red lentils
- 1 level tbsp curry powder
- ½ level tsp cumin powder
- 4 - 6 garlic cloves (2 tbsp minced)
- ½ cup onion finely chopped, or 3 chopped scallions
- 1 tsp minced ginger
- 1 tomato chopped or 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp salt, or to taste
- 1 tsp vegetable oil
- 2 culantro chadon beni leaves chopped, or 1 heaping tbsp chopped cilantro leaves.
- Hot pepper to taste
- 1 medium potato, taro or yam diced into 1-inch cubes (optional)
Instructions
- Heat the pot or skillet on medium heat.
- Add 1 tsp of oil. This recipe uses less oil to sauté the seasoning. Therefore, to prevent the seasoning from burning during the sautéing process, keep ½ cup of water on hand and add 1 tbsp of water, at a time, to areas where you see the seasoning may stick.
- Add onions and ½ tsp of salt and gently stir for 2 minutes.
- Add garlic, ginger and hot peppers (optional), and stir for 1 minute.
- Add the curry powder, cumin powder and stir for 30 seconds to coat the seasoning. (You may need to add a little water here.)
- Add tomatoes or tomato paste, the culantro, and ¼ cup of water. Stir, then cover, lower heat and let simmer for 5 minutes.
- Add the lentils plus ¾ - 1 cup of water.
- Bring to a slight boil, cover, lower heat and let simmer for 15-20 minutes.
- Taste to see if you need to add more salt.
- Near the end of the dish, you can add potatoes, taro or yam, and simmer until tender (about 5 - 7 minutes).
Notes
Pairing:
Serve with rice, or other grain, or ground provision, and vegetables.
Serve with dhalpuri roti, paratha (buss up shut), or flatbread, and vegetables.