Friday, February 7, 2014

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry

After days of teasing us, the weather finally came through and dumped some snow over OKC on Thursday morning.  

We got a decent snow last Sunday, but it all melted before school on Monday.  Then, the "big" storm (that the weathermen had hyped up for days and days and days) was supposed to come in Tuesday morning, so we were all shocked and saddened when we woke up to nothing more than a little drizzle and had to go to work. 

 Luckily, we got a third little snow storm on Thursday, and, seeing as the temperatures were in the single digits, it finally stuck around.  We are now enjoying our second snow day in a row, making for a four-day weekend!  I was beginning to think it would never happen!!
Since I obsessively check the weather (I really may have a problem), I was overjoyed to find an app that combines weather with my favorite thing - puppies.  If you love dogs, you must download the Weather Puppy app immediately!  
I've had a chance to do quite a bit of cooking over the last couple days, and I wanted to share a tasty new Indian-inspired meal that I recently created. 
As I've mentioned before, aside from the staples I keep on a list, my go-to grocery shopping method is to wait until I get to the store to see what looks good and what is on sale.  I worry about what I'm going to do with it all later.  After all, when it comes to vegetables, you can always roast them and throw them all together in a "big bowl."  It's hard to go wrong.

I had a lot of sweet potatoes on my hands this week and was craving some kind of curry, so I used what I already had in the pantry/fridge to create this sweet potato and red lentil dish.  It was roughly inspired by an African peanut soup that I love in my Peas and Thank You cookbook.

This dish turned out amazing, and the fact that it is full of some of the world's healthiest spices and veggies is a major bonus.  It came together in about 30 minutes and made more than enough for Jay and me plus lunch the next day.

Sweet Potato and Red Lentil Curry
2 cups cooked brown rice
2 tablespoons olive oil
1/2 yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tablespoon fresh ginger, minced
1 tablespoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric
Dash of garam masala (optional)
1/2 cup water
15-oz can light coconut milk, shaken
15-oz can fire-roasted diced tomatoes
1 large sweet potato, cut into 1/2 inch cubes
1/2 cup red lentils
1 large handful fresh spinach
Salt and pepper to taste
Optional toppings: chopped peanuts, cilantro, green onion, Sriracha, etc.

In a heavy saucepan, heat the oil over medium-low heat. After the pan has heated up for a few minutes, add the onion, garlic, and ginger. Cook for about 5 minutes until everything is softened. Add the spices and cook for another 30 seconds.

Add the water, coconut milk, diced tomatoes. lentils, and sweet potato to the pan. Increase the heat and bring to a boil. As soon as it starts boiling, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes, or until lentils and sweet potato are tender. Add the spinach and stir until it has all wilted, about 2 more minutes. Season with salt and pepper.  Serve over brown rice and garnish as desired.
Have a great weekend!

1 comment:

  1. Yum. This looks really good. Thanks for sharing this recipe. :-)

    Simon

    ReplyDelete

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