Curried Lentils w/ Cilantro and Coconut Milk

Lentils are fun-tastic. They are high in protein and cook up really quick compared to beans. More importantly, they make for some great soups. This one has something of an Indian twist w/ coconut milk and curry plus a splash of color from some veggies and cilantro.

Mind you this isn't some kind of authentic recipe here just something I developed over time that can be prepared relatively quickly and makes about a weeks worth of food. It takes maybe an hour or two, depending how long you wish to soak. It is also completely meat and dairy free for those fun fans who happen to be vegetarian or vegan.

Here is what you need:

1 16 oz pkg lentils
14 oz vegetable broth
1/2 cup chopped carrots
1 clove garlic diced
1 medium onion diced
1/2 cup frozen corn
1/2 frozen peas
1 can coconut milk
1 bunch cilantro
4-5 tbsp curry powder
salt, pepper

The first thing I do is throw the lentils is a big pot and cover w/ about two inches of water. Bring this to a boil, turn off heat and let it sit for a half hour or an hour. If it seems like the water gets all absorbed just add another quart or so of tap water to recover. After the beans are done soaking, pour off the excess liquid. You don't have to do this pre-soak w/ lentils because they cook so quickly but it helps to reduce your tootin' after you eat them if you do do it.

Whether or not you chose to soak, the next step is to add 14 oz of vegetable broth and enough water to cover the beans. You will notice that this amount of vegetable broth is exactly how much comes in a can. You can substitute homemade stock, of course, but I feel like the lentils thicken the soup enough to make that unnecessary and any flavor from homemade stock is drowned out by the amount of spices used. Bring this mix up to boil, reduce to simmer and add carrots, garlic and onions. Cook until lentils and carrots are tender. This will take about ten or twenty minutes depending on your personal taste. You want everything a little firmer than you like because it will be cooked a bit more later. Be careful not too add too much liquid, you want the soup to look about like this:

Now what you have here is a pretty nice soup on it's own. You can go ahead and add salt and pepper to taste and be done w/ it but what's the fun in that? Add a 14 oz can of coconut milk, a half cup each of frozen corn and frozen peas, and four or five tablespoons of curry powder. I use curry powder I can get in large quantities in bulk from one of the Indian grocery stores on Devon Ave. here in Chicago. The bottles in big grocery stores are an absolute rip-off. You are better off buying online if you don't have access to somewhere that sells in bulk. I sometimes make my own curry powder, which is easy w/ the right ingredients, but that is a discussion for another day. The crowning glory of this concoction is a big pile of fresh chopped cilantro that you add right at the end:

Don't be afraid; use the whole bunch. You will need a lot to get past the curry powder. Let this cook just a few more minutes to make sure the frozen veggies are warmed through and it is ready to serve. I generally package this stuff up in plastic containers for lunch over the next week. It reheats really well but unfortunately does not take to the freezer so cut this recipe in half if you can't eat it all in a week.

This is one of those recipes I keep coming back to and have endless variations as far as ingredients. You can pretty much throw anything in there you like and it will come out tasting pretty good. If you have any ideas let us know by posting a comment.