Red Lentil Curry - Meatless Monday

Recipe adapted from allrecipes.com

Makes 6-8 main dish servings

So, between getting married, going on my honeymoon in Spain (delicious Spanish recipes to follow!), and submitting a grant, I've, well, neglected my blog. However, I got a ton of fabulous cooking swag for my wedding, so I was dying to try something new. This was the perfect dish!

I don't know if I mentioned it earlier, but I have inherited a ton of dry goods from foodie friends that have both (!!!) moved to California. My husband threatens to throw away some of the dustier items since he hates clutter, so my new challenge is to use at least two inherited dry goods per meal. Today I used three: rice, tomato paste, and red chili paste.

Now, this may look like a lot of ingredients, but it's really just measuring out a bunch of spices, so it doesn't take a ton of time. I promise.

Ingredients

2 cups lentils
1 large onion, diced
1 Tbsp vegetable oil
2 Tbsp red curry paste
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tsp ground tumeric
1 Tsp ground cumin
1 Tsp chili powder (NOT the kind for chili/stew, i.e. chili powder mixed with cumin etc. You want pure dried chili powder. I used chipotle chili pepper, but ancho or something similar should be nice)
1 Tsp salt
1 Tsp white sugar
1 Tsp minced fresh garlic
1 Tsp ginger root, minced (I doubled this to 2, but it depends on how much you like ginger)
1 14.25 ounce can tomato puree (I substituted 7 oz tomato paste, since that was all that I had)

1 - Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear. Place the lentils in a pot with water to cover and simmer covered until lentils are tender. This won't take more than 10-15 minutes.

2- While the lentils are cooking, carmelize the onions in a Dutch oven. I suggest using a medium-medium low level of heat and stirring often. I prefer the onions to be a nice brown.

3 - While the onions are caramelizing, combine remaining ingredients EXCEPT tomatoes in a mixing bowl. Mix well and add to onions once they're finished carmelizing. Cook over high heat, stirring constantly, for 1 - 2 minutes.

4 - Stir in tomatoes and reduce heat. Add lentils and simmer until lentils are ready.

5 - When lentils are tender, drain and rinse them. Mix into the curry base and serve.

6 - I served this on a bed of rice (oh, how I wish I had a rice cooker!) and fried two eggs to place atop the curry. The great thing is that this is truly a 3-pot meal.