Make Red Lentil Soup!
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Red Lentil Coconut Dal
by Molly Reeder
This quick, throw-it-together curry dish uses pantry ingredients plus whatever sad vegetables may be languishing in your refrigerator. The more wilted, the better! I like cauliflower, carrots, and spinach as a nice veggie mix, but you could also use potatoes, peas, pumpkin or squash, broccoli . . . whatever needs to be eaten! While the dal is simmering, cook up your favorite kind of rice to serve it over. Serves 4.
ingredients
1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil or extra-virgin olive oil
½ onion, chopped
2 or 3 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
4 cups of chopped vegetables
One 14-ounce can diced tomatoes
½ cup dried red lentils
One 14-ounce can full-fat coconut milk
½ cup vegetable broth or water
1 teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground black pepper
Optional Garnishes:
Several springs of fresh cilantro
1 lime
1 avocado
instructions
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven or large heavy-bottomed pot over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until it is cooked through and golden, 5 to 8 minutes.
Add the garlic and curry powder and cook, stirring, for a few more minutes. Add the vegetables, diced tomatoes, lentils, coconut milk, broth, and salt and pepper. Give it a good stir until everything is thoroughly incorporated. Increase the heat to medium-high and bring to a gentle boil.
Reduce the heat to low and simmer, stirring from time to time, until the vegetables are cooked through and all the flavors have combined into a lovely stew, 30 to 40 minutes.
Meanwhile, cook up a pot of your preferred kind of rice. This is a good time to prepare the garnishes, if using: chop up the cilantro, cut the lime into wedges, and slice the avocado.
When the dal is ready, scoop it over servings of rice. Top each serving with some chopped cilantro, a squeeze of lime juice, and/or several slices of avocado if you have it.