Curry is such comforting warm dish, full of spices and yumminess - it truly hits all the right notes. I adore this recipe it is so quick and easy for meal prepping or a meal on any night of the week. It is vegetarian and can be paired with our Kofta recipe, some naan or anything your heart desires.
Curry seems like such a foreign food to a lot of us, all the spices that go into it make it almost scary to the average cook. But really a little research on different spice blends will go a long way. Once you find a blend you enjoy you can just make a big batch of it and then you're all set for whenever you have a lovely curry craving (which for me is quite often). Just please for the love that all that is holy don't use the yellow curry powder in your curry. I won't be against using that as a seasoning in itself but that my dear friends is not curry. Curry is the most lovely balance of sweet, salty, acid and heat - can you tell I love it?
Overtime we pop this recipe into a meal plan I look forward to it all day. This recipe is a bit of a cheat in the fact that you use tasty bite's lentils that are already made. By all mean you can go from scratch and make your lentils and season them, however, we thought this version was great to share because when you're working and trying to balance all aspects of life while also cooking and being healthy you deserve some shortcuts.
I really enjoy Tasty Bites Lentils, I have not tasted their other products but their Madras Lentils truly hit it home in this recipe. Another shortcut we use is S&B Japanese Golden Curry, it comes in different heat levels and it adds such a comforting warm note to the curry and really rounds out the taste. Mmm typing this out I am going to have to add this to my next meal plan again, I am getting hungry!
The last trick I have learned along the way is that when we say cilantro in this recipe or in any curry recipe we mean the stalks! Save the leaves for a beautiful garnish but the stems are truly where the flavor is at. Don't worry you won't get hard stems throughout your bowl of curry they soften and then you blitz blend at the end and its just fantastic! Alright thats it for me, please enjoy and let us know what you think!
INGREDIENTS
2 tsp olive oil
1 onion, diced
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 inch ginger, minced
2 tbsp. Garam Masala*
1 bunch cilantro stalks and leaves separated
3 pieces golden curry
14 oz. tomatoes, diced
16 oz. madras lentils
1/2 cup coconut milk
juice of half a lemon
Salt and Pepper
Garam Masala*
· 1 tablespoon ground cumin
· 2 teaspoons ground coriander
· 2 teaspoons ground cardamom
· 1 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
· 1 teaspoon ground pepper
· ½ teaspoon ground nutmeg
· ½ teaspoon ground cloves
· ¼ teaspoon cayenne
Directions
1. Heat pot and add oil, when oil starts shimmering it is ready! Add in your onions and stir
2. Salt your onions and cook on medium heat until they become translucent, stirring once or twice to make sure they don’t burn. If needed add some water or stock to keep them from burning!
3. Add in garlic, ginger and spice mix and stir until well mixed. Cook on medium until fragrant, about 1-2 min
4. Add in cilantro and golden curry, stirring well to cook down the paste and hydrate it in the pan, a splash of stock or water helps break up the paste easier!
5. Once everything seems well mixed and combined add in your tomatoes and stir to combine everything
6. Allow the mixture to come to a boil and then reduce to a simmer for 10-15 min, stirring every so often
7. Add in lentils, stir and cook for an addition 10 min