Lentils and Potatoes with Curry

November 13, 2008

This past Sunday I used my lentils to make a lentil and potato curry dish. It looked pretty simple and I had the ingredients I needed on hand.

How was it? Decent. Not amazing, but not terrible. The main flavoring is curry, of which I used a plain store bought brand, but I could imagine the dish being better if you had a better curry powder. Still, it tasted fine over a bowl of rice and is quite a cheap meal when you add it all up. I would certainly consider the recipe again, but perhaps with some tweaks.

All I needed was 2 cups of dried brown lentils (this recipe is doubled from the book - it makes quite a bit), 6 russet potatoes (3 medium sized, 3 small - though the doubled recipe calls for 4 medium sized, all peeled and cut into chunks), 4 cups of water and three cups of homemade chicken stock (feel free to replace partly with coconut milk or vegetable stock), 2 tablespoons of curry powder (I ended up adding a little garam masala and ground cayenne, though these were not called for), 4 tablespoons butter (optional), salt, and pepper.

I began by placing my lentils, curry, and water+stock in a large saucepot and turning the heat to medium high. I had to stir pretty frequently in order to prevent the lentils from burning and sticking to the bottom. Once boiling though, I turned it down to just above medium-low to keep it at a nice simmer and covered it partially with a lid.

After about 15 minutes of simmering, the lentils should start to absorb water. At this point I added the potatoes, stirred them in, and let the mixture simmer, completely covered, for 10 minutes. After the 10 minutes, I stirred again, added some salt, and tossed the butter in. At this point, you just want to let the lentils and potatoes cook, covered, until both are very soft. Also, add more water or stock if it gets too dry.

When my potatoes were soft, another 15 minutes or so, I added freshly ground black pepper and tasted. It was surprisingly bland. I added a little more curry along with some turmeric, garam masala, and ground cayenne. It tasted ok after the additions. I served mine over rice and garnished with some plain yogurt.

Tips

• Optional garnishes are yogurt and cilantro.
• I think some cilantro may have helped add some freshness to the taste. The whole thing tasted decent, but not particularly good.
• As I mentioned earlier, this recipe might be much better with a better curry powder, but no promises.
• Although I didn’t love this dish, it does taste much better than it looks.

Printable Recipe

Ingredients:

• 2 cups dried brown lentils, rinsed
• 7 cups liquid (combination of water, vegetable or chicken stock, or coconut milk, though don’t use all coconut milk)
• 2 Tbsp. curry powder
• 4-6 medium to small russet potatoes
• 4 Tbsp. butter (optional)
• Salt and pepper to taste
• Cilantro (optional garnish)
• Yogurt (optional garnish)

Recipe:

1. Combine the lentils, curry, and liquid in a large saucepot over medium-high heat. Stir frequently until boiling, then turn heat to medium-low or until simmering. Let it cook, partially covered, for around 15 minutes, until the lentils start absorbing water.
2. Add the potatoes, stir them in, and cover. Let them cook for 10 minutes before stirring again. Add the butter and some salt. Add more water if necessary.
3. Allow the mixture to finish cooking, covered (anywhere from 5-15 minutes). It is finished when the potatoes and lentils are very tender. Add black pepper to taste. Serve with yogurt or cilantro over rice.

Recipe adapted from Mark Bittman’s How to Cook Everything Vegetarian.

Posted in Failures, Recipes |