Curried Coconut Lentils

Winter sucks.

And while Ayah may be enjoying her delicious looking cold lentil salad in beautiful California, I’m freezing my Tim Hortons tidbits off in Toronto.  {Side note: for those of you who don’t know what Tim Hortons is, it’s a Canadian coffee and donut chain that is absurdly popular in Toronto.  Tidbits are adorable little donut balls.}

When the weather gets like this, I crave hot, spicy, comforting food.

My man and I both work full time, so I make a lot of soups, stews, and chili to keep us going through the week in winter.  Let’s just say the cafeteria where we work is neither healthy, tasty or cheap.

I whipped up this lentil dish on the spot one night with a ton of my favorite ingredients.  Since, John “my man“, doesn’t think a meal is a meal without meat (he’s a good Irishman), I topped his with curried chicken and sour cream and he was in heaven.

Best thing is you can freeze half of it and heats up really well a week or even months later.

And don’t get freaked out by the ketchup in the recipe, it’s a little secret I learned from my friend’s mom who makes the best authentic Indian food.  I busted her with a bottle of hot sauce and ketchup by her side.  She gave me a little wink and that was that.  Just try it.

[box]Curried Coconut Lentils

Serves aprox. 6 (Or two with plenty of leftovers)

• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 tsp Arvinda’s curry blend (or your choice of curry blend, add more if needed)
• 2 cloves minced garlic
• 2 tbsp minced ginger
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 cup of lentils
• 1 box vegetable stock
• 1 can crushed tomatoes
• 1/4 cup almond milk
• 1/4 cup organic ketchup (learnt this trick from my friend’s mom)
• 2 yams
• 2 celery stalks
• 2 zucchini (yellow and green)
• red bell pepper
• half a head of cauliflower
• salt to taste

1. Heat coconut oil on medium heat and simmer onions, garlic and ginger.
2. Add chopped vegetables and cook on medium to low heat for 10-15 minutes.
3. Add curry powder, lentils, and vegetable stock.  Put on lid and bring to a boil.
4. Add can of crushed tomatoes, ketchup, almond milk and salt.
5. Simmer for another 30-45 minutes until fully cooked.

Serve with an option of curried chicken and a dollop of sour cream if you’ve got a meat lovin dining partner!

[/box]

Arvinda’s curry that I mentioned is the best, you can find it online here!

Tagged as: Arvinda, coconut, Indian food, ketchup, legume, lentil, lentils