Winter Red Lentil Curry

Packed with protein, fiber, vitamins and important minerals such as zinc, iron and magnesium, red lentils are healthy, easy to cook, versitile and inexpensive. Called one of the three best anti-aging superfoods of 2011 by Dr. Oz, there is a lot to love about this tiny legume. And if you are on the path to eating healthier, including red lentils in your weekly repertoir is a good idea.

Now, I'm starting you out with a flexible recipe to get you going. By flexible I mean you can turn this curry recipe into a soup (currently it is served over rice) by simply adding more chicken broth and omitting the rice. This is a great thing to do if you have a little leftover - one or two servings - and you don't want to make rice again or need a lighter meal. As a catholic, this meal is served often in our house during Lent. This recipe is also flexible in that you can add other Winter veg like cauliflower and the like or change the veg altogether with the seasons. I love making this in the Fall with pumpkin or butternut squash. The other reason I love this dish is because you can hide a bunch of nutrition in here for fussy vegetable eaters because the spice is a great equalizer. I like to use Bob's Red Mill Heritage Red Lentils. Dried beans are one item that it is ok to buy from another state or side of the country. These are grown in the Pacific Northwest and you'll find that most dried beans are from out of state.

I need to take a few sentances to discuss what curry is. It IS a blend of different spices (like pumpkin pie spice or apple pie spice is a blend of spices) AND it is also a dish - a curry is anything served over rice in Indian cuisine. Curries are usually vegetarian and are a cuisine unto themselves. There are a million different kinds of curries and what makes them so wonderful is they are a reflection of the region in which they are cooked due to the spices and vegetables chosen. So let this curry be a reflection of your mood the day you prepare it, the freshness of the produce available and the particular health needs that you have. The red lentils act as a blank, vitamin and protein packed canvas.

I usually use red curry powder and add extra tumeric for health benefits. Yellow curry powder already has tumeric in it and I am looking for more. Tumeric is a natural anit-inflammatory and has many other health benefits, so I add it in as many places as I can. The lentils will break down as they cook and will be the natural thickener. You can add more chicken broth if you feel it is needed. I like my curry to be the consistency of thick gravy but it is all up to personal preference. If you like spicy food, you'll probably want to add another tablespoon of curry powder and several dashes of hot sauce. If you want mild spice, the amount of curry powder listed will be just fine.

Winter Red Lentil Curry

1 cup red lentils

1 large onion diced

2-3 cloves of garlic finely chopped

1 large or 2 medium sweet potato, large dice

1 large yellow potato, large dice

2 large or 3 medium carrots, medium dice

1 large orange pepper, diced

1 – 14 oz can diced tomatoes

1 tbsp. curry powder

½ tbsp. turmeric

1 tbsp black mustard seeds, optional

2 large handfuls of greens mix (baby kale, swiss chard and spinach)

4 cups (32oz) chicken broth

oil, salt and pepper

Saute onion in 2 tablespoons grape seed oil (or oil of your preference) until light golden brown, add greens and saute until fully wilted. Reduce heat to medium, add a tablespoon more of oil and add garlic and spices, cook for one minute. Add chicken broth, lentils and all vegetables and return to high heat. Bring to a boil, reduce to simmer, cover and cook for 20 to 30 minutes until all vegetables are tender and lentils are cooked. Check after 15 minutes of cooking to see if more liquid needs to be added. You want enough liquid to be the consistency of a thick gravy. Serve over jasmine rice.

To turn this into soup, add more chicken broth and omit the rice. Enjoy!