Spiced Red Lentils with Caramelized Onions and Spinach

Ingredients

• 3 tablespoons vegetable oil, divided
• 1 1/2 large onions, halved and cut into thin half-moons
• About 1 tsp. kosher salt
• 1 cup red lentils, rinsed well and drained
• 2 dried bay leaves
• 1/2 serrano chile, minced
• 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 bunch (10 oz.) spinach (not baby), stems finely chopped and leaves cut in half; or use thawed frozen spinach
• 1/2 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 4 cups cooked brown basmati rice or couscous

Preparation

1. Heat 2 tbsp. oil over medium heat in a large nonstick frying pan. Add onions and a pinch of salt and cook, stirring occasionally, until browned and very soft with crisp edges, about 30 minutes. Transfer half to a bowl and set aside.
2. Meanwhile, put lentils in a saucepan with 3 cups water and the bay leaves. Bring to a simmer over medium heat, uncovered, and skim foam. Simmer just until tender, 5 to 10 minutes (they'll fall apart a little). Remove bay leaves and set lentils aside--don't drain.
3. Stir chile, ginger, coriander, turmeric, and 1 tsp. salt into pan of onions and cook over medium heat until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add spinach and cook, stirring occasionally, until completely wilted, about 3 minutes. Stir onion-spinach mixture into pot of lentils and wipe frying pan clean.
4. Heat 1 tbsp. oil in pan over medium heat. Add cumin and garlic and cook, stirring, until seeds are sizzling, about 1 minute; stir into lentils. Season with salt. Top lentils with reserved onion and serve over rice.

Nutritional Information

Amount per serving

• Calories 510
• Caloriesfromfat 21 %
• Protein 19 g
• Fat 13 g
• Satfat 1.5 g
• Carbohydrate 82 g
• Fiber 8.3 g
• Sodium 431 mg
• Cholesterol 0.0 mg

Coconut Green Curry Lentils

Author: Pinch of Yum

Prep time:  5 mins

Cook time:  30 mins

Total time:  35 mins

Serves: 4

 

Ingredients

• 1 cup uncooked lentils, rinsed
• ½ cup bulgur
• 2½ cups water or vegetable broth
• ¼ cup green curry paste
• ¾ teaspoon turmeric
• 1 tablespoons tomato paste
• 1½ tablespoons butter
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 teaspoons garam masala
• 1 teaspoon sea salt
• ½ cup coconut milk
• 1 teaspoon fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 2 cups fresh spinach, stems removed
• Greek yogurt for topping

Instructions

1. Place lentils, bulgur, 2 cups water, curry paste, and turmeric in a medium saucepan. Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes or until lentils are mostly cooked. Add the remaining ½ cup water during cook time if lentils and bulgur have absorbed all the water. You want to cook it until there is no liquid remaining. Turn the heat to medium or low, if it's not already.
2. Keeping the saucepan on the heat, stir in the tomato paste. Mixture should thicken slightly. Add butter, garlic, and garam masala; stir to combine until butter is melted. Add coconut milk and simmer for another 5-10 minutes or until thick and creamy.
3. Remove from heat and stir in ginger and spinach until barely wilted. You can also serve this with fresh spinach, adding it just before serving.

Green Lentil Curry

ACTIVE: 30 MIN
TOTAL TIME: 1 HR
SERVINGS: 4 

   Ingredients
1 teaspoon finely grated ginger
1 garlic clove, mashed to a paste
2 teaspoons ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
3 tablespoons canola oil
1/4 teaspoon cumin seeds
1 small shallot, minced
1 tablespoon tomato paste mixed with 1 tablespoon of water
1 1/4 cups dried green lentils
1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
4 ounces green beans, cut into 3/4-inch lengths
4 ounces kale, stemmed and leaves finely chopped
1 medium carrot, thinly sliced
1 cup finely chopped cilantro
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
Salt

1. In a small bowl, combine the ginger, garlic, coriander and ground cumin. Stir in 1/4 cup of water to make a paste. In a small skillet, heat the oil until shimmering. Add the cumin seeds and cook over moderately high heat for 5 seconds, just until sizzling. Add the shallot and cook, stirring, until lightly browned, about 1 minute. Add the spice paste and let cook until most of the liquid has evaporated, about 2 minutes. Stir in the tomato paste and cook until thick, about 1 minute longer.
2. In a saucepan, combine the lentils with the turmeric and 5 cups of water; bring to a boil. Cover partially and simmer over low heat for 20 minutes, until the lentils are barely tender. Add the green beans, kale, carrot, three-fourths of the cilantro and the cayenne and season with salt. Cook until the lentils and vegetables are tender, 15 minutes. Scrape in the spice paste and the remaining cilantro. Simmer for 5 minutes, then serve.

Serve With

Steamed basmati rice, warm naan and plain yogurt. 

 

From: Food and Wine