vegetable & red lentil curry

I know of at least one friend who enjoys an occasional JPP stop-by to get a new recipe. Since I cook more than I bake, I figured I would post the Indian curry recipe that I recently made, in addition to today's cake recipe below. This is adapted from a Food.com "spicy root & lentil casserole."  I do not like parsnips, so I substituted chick peas in place of parsnips (which also gives this more protein). I also don't buy pre-made curry paste or powder. It is really easy to make your own! I also decided to add coconut milk for a creamier curry. So while the base idea is not mine, the embellishments were a couple of ideas carried over from other recipes. The best way to cook is to experiment!

Vegetable & Red Lentil Curry

Ingredients
3 T. olive oil
1 chopped onion
2-3 cloves of garlic, pressed
5-6 medium potatoes (peeled and chopped into thin chunks)
5 large carrots, peeled and chopped in thick slices
1 14 oz. can of chick peas, strained and rinsed well
1 14 oz. can of diced tomatoes
1 small can of tomato paste
2-3 T garam masala dry spice
1 T grated ginger root
4 c. vegetable stock
3 T. coconut milk
4-6 oz. of red lentils
3 T. fresh cilantro roughly chopped
1 c. plain yogurt to serve as a garnish as desired

In a very large skillet, heat most of the oil and cook the potato and carrots 7-9 minutes until starting to turn golden (the bottom of the pan will get a golden crust)

In a small saute pan, take a small amount of oil, cook the onions and garlic until softened; add tomato paste, ginger root, and 2 T garam masala spice - until aromatic. Set aside. This is your curry paste.

Add the curry paste to the carrots and potatoes, pour in the stock, add the tomatoes and chick peas and bring to a boil.

Reduce the heat, add the lentils and cover and simmer for 40 minutes or so until the lentils and vegetables are tender and the sauce has thickened. Add coconut milk. Stir in the cilantro.

You can transfer this to a slow cooker to finish cooking on low or keep warm.

Garnish with cilantro and yogurt as desired. Serve with basmati rice and naan. This serves 8 plus, so it is great for a party. I first made this for a work potluck luncheon. Leftovers will freeze nicely.

This tastes better than my photo looks. I forgot to take the photo when it was warm and steamy, so this is a snapshot of a left over bowl heated in the microwave.

Samosas with a cilantro-yogurt chutney make nice appetizers. Incidentally, you can get very good frozen samosas and naan in your grocery freezer section, and that is what we do! Within 15 minutes in a hot oven you have something nearly as good as homemade. The chutney is very easy. Take about a cup of plain yogurt and blend it up with a handful of cilantro leaves until it liquefies. It is a yummy and cooling dip for spicy samosas.