Black Lentil Curry

Oh curry, how shall I profess my undying love for thee? You are so tantalizing, mouth-watering and brimming with exotic zest and spices. You are not only the meal upon my table once a week, but also the namesake for my cat. In a word, you are...perfection.

(Not exactly the most appetizing in photos though)

Wow...I'm not..insane

But I am crazy for curry. I realize "curry" is incredibly general and I love ALL of them. We make a Garam Masala based curry almost every week and it is my favorite. Sometimes we just use simple veggies, sometimes chicken; Steven even did meatballs once. This week, I used black lentils.

I did the best I could to "quantify" everything, but usually I just dash seasonings here and there. This sounds about right though. I like a really cinnamon-y Garam Masala curry, so I use about 2 tbsp of the stuff when I make curry. Steven...not so much so he'll use 1/2-1 tbsp. Really, it's up to you!

Black Lentil Curry Recipe:

• 1/2 yellow onion, chopped
• 4 cloves garlic, minced
• 1 tbsp ginger, minced (We buy fresh ginger, but powder would probably work too though the flavor wouldn't be as strong)
• 1 carrot, diced
• 2 tbsp olive oil (might need more if you decide to cook chicken before)
• 1 tbsp cumin powder
• 1 tbsp Turmeric powder
• 2 tbsp Garam Masala (less if you don't want that super cinnamony taste)
• 1/2 tbsp coriander (we have coriander seeds, which we smash in a mortar and pestle but you can buy coriander powder)
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1 tsp black pepper (adjust to taste)
• 2 tsp salt (adjust to taste)
• 1 tsp peanut or cashew butter (any nut butter works. It's mainly for consistency and adds just a hint of flavor. But you really only need a very little bit bc too much and the whole dish will taste like peanut butter)
• 2 8oz cans tomato sauce (we accidentally used one once that had green chiles in it and it was AWESOME. Added a bit of spice so I might suggest using one can of that or just sticking to the original tomato sauce)
• 1/2 cup green peas (frozen works best)
• 1/2 cup corn (frozen works)
• 2 tbsp plain nonfat yogurt or coconut milk

• 1/2 cup black lentils
• 2 cups cups water

Rinse the black lentils very well in cold water. Place in a large pot with water and bring to a boil. Reduce to simmer and cover with lid for about 20 minutes.

Meanwhile, caramelize onions in the olive oil over low to medium-low heat. Once translucent, add minced garlic, ginger and carrots. Once the ginger and garlic barely brown and the carrots become a bit more tender, add all the spices (except peanut butter) and mix until everything is well-coated.

Add the two cans of tomato sauce and cook on medium heat until bubbly. Then reduce heat to low and simmer for 25 minutes with a lid. If it looks a little too thick for your liking, add 1/4 cup of water or chicken broth until you get desired consistency.

After it simmers for awhile (and makes your house smelling all INCREDIBLE) add the peas, corn, lentils and dollop of peanut butter. Let that all come together nicely for about 10 minutes. At the end, add your yogurt or coconut milk to get a nice creamy texture. I typically use yogurt because I like the tang. Mix it all together and BAM.

Time to serve this awesome stuff over white/brown/basmati/jasmine rice. Pick your poison.

Now, before tonight, I had made brown rice several times in a variety of ways...all of which failed. Too chewy, undercooked, mushy, etc. I tried a new method tonight and can I get a hell yeah? It was great. You'll need to bring about 12 cups of water to a boil on high heat in a large pot with a lid. While this is heating up, rinse the brown rice thoroughly. When the water is boiling, add the rice and boil uncovered for 30 minutes. Then drain on a strainer, put back in the pot with heat off and steam for 10 minutes. Voila: fluffy, tasty brown rice.