Sept 19-21 Red Lentil Curry

Sept 19     Red Lentil Curry and Basmati Rice
Sept 20     no dinner for me and The Kid made himself a sandwich
Sept 21     bbq pork buns and sticky rice and a moon cake

Another busy week with more scheduling upsets and work so there was not much opportunity for planning ahead or shopping. Monday I had about 20 minutes to whip something up from pantry items and fridge scraps or I knew I would break down and order out. Little Shack has really been warming up to curries so I thought I would make a nice, simple curry using red lentils because they don't require any pre soaking and they cook so fast. I can't tell you how happy I am that the Kid is finally coming around to foods with a bit of heat so that I don't have to make two versions of everything or make my food mild and then be forced to add hot sauce or chill flakes to my own bowl.
It basically cooked in the time it took to wash and cook the rice making it a really great dinner to make on nights when I get home late and don't want to order out but I also don't want to put dinner on the table at 9pm. Well, it WILL be a great go to dinner in 2012.



Red Lentil Curry
adapted from Red Lentil and Sweet Potato Curry from Dinner with Julie

sunflower, peanut or another flavourless vegetable oil
1/2 large red onion, finely diced
1 clove garlic finely diced
1 tsp minced ginger
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp cumin
pinch kosher salt
1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed
about a heaping cup of chopped cauliflower
1 sweet potato, peeled and diced
1 cup of hot water mixed with 1/2 cup of coconut milk powder (or a cup of coconut milk from a can)
1 1/3 cup of chicken stock
a few of handfuls of baby spinach


heat a small glug of oil over med heat.
Saute the red onion and garlic for five minutes before adding the ginger, curry powder, cumin and salt. Saute the spices for a couple of minutes more until they are super fragrant.
Then throw in the red lentils, the cauliflower, sweet potato, coconut milk and chicken stock. Bring to a light simmer, cover and turn down to med low and cook for about 20 minutes, until the lentils are cooked.
Meanwhile cook some basmati rice how ever you do that. I use a rice cooker for all of my rice.

Just before serving, remove the lid and throw on the baby spinach. Put the lid back on and let sit, off the heat, for a minute while you put the rice into the serving bowls. Remove the lid, give the curry a stir and spoon it over the rice.