Autumn Beauty: Red Lentil Curry

 

🍁Red Lentil Curry🍁

As the vibrant autumn colors infuse our landscapes with unmatched beauty all across North America, we are using Mother Nature's own masterful artistry as inspiration for our theme that highlights warm and colorful spices here at the Food Raven kitchen this Fall season. With turmeric and cumin as the main spice spotlight this month, we are serving up this delicious Red Lentil Curry as our signature dish this October. I used an amazing, mildly spicy Madras curry spice blend that contains turmeric, cumin, coriander, cayenne, and fenugreek to brighten up the dish and enhance the overall flavor profile of the curry. This wholly vegetarian recipe may be simple and super easy to prepare, but comes fully packed with such abundant flavor and is guaranteed to warm you up instantly on any cool Autumn night.

Ingredients

1 Cup Split Red Lentils

1/2 Red Onion, diced

4 Small Tomatoes, diced

2 Large Carrots, peeled and sliced into half-moons

1/2 tsp Madras Curry

1 tsp Ground Black Pepper

1 tsp Smoked Paprika

2 tbsp Salt

1/2 tsp Parsley, fresh or dry

3 tbsp Extra Virgin Olive Oil

One major advantage with using split red lentils is the fact that there is absolutely no need to pre-boil them separately beforehand, which saves a great deal of time. For this recipe, first rinse the cup of lentils thoroughly in a colander under cold running water until the rinse water turns clear. Place a large pot under medium-high heat on a stove and let it warm up for approximately 2 minutes before adding the 3 tablespoons of olive oil. Thereafter, pour in the diced red onions, sprinkle a dash of salt, and let this caramelize for about 3 minutes. Next, add in the tomatoes and carrots then sprinkle the Madras curry (just a little goes a long way), ground black pepper, and smoked paprika generously over the vegetables. Stir to blend thoroughly and then let this base mixture sauté and cook down for about 5 minutes until they form a thick consistency.

Next, pour in the cup of rinsed lentils and stir into the base mixture to blend well. Pour in 2 cups of water or vegetable broth if preferred while stirring continuously. Allow this to simmer for 10 minutes under medium heat then add about 1 more cup of water/broth as needed and let it cook down uncovered for another 5 - 10 minutes. Avoid adding too much liquid as this could potentially water down the curry and thus reduce its distinctively unique and intense flavor. Season generously with salt to taste while stirring thoroughly and garnish the soup with some dry parsley flakes about 1 minute before turning off the heat and removing the pot from the stove. This heart-warming lentil curry is best served hot immediately as a side dish and pairs beautifully with Jasmine or Basmati rice for a healthy and wholesome dinner meal. Enjoy! 😋🥘💛