Curried Red Lentil Stew with Winter Veggies

So, it's the beginning of flu season. This means people around me are sick. And by people around me, not even necessarily people I know -- in the grocery store the other day, I saw someone who looked like she was about to pass out (pale features, sheen of sweat, red nose, bundled up far more than the temperatures outside called for). Cold and flu season makes me want to eat things that are going to help boost my immunity (and, let's face it, that are just plain good for me).

And, since the days are more frequently cool / cloudy / wet, I want to consume warm things -- stews, soups, bakes. teas & coffee, etc.

This is where a curried red lentil stew comes in. This particular stew has onions, garlic, ginger, turmeric, lentils (hooray protein!!), dark green veggies*, and more immune-system boosting goodness. Regardless of whether any of these actually help me stay healthy during the winter months I like to imagine they do -- and it creating a large batch of this stew provides me with several days of quick, healthy meals.

I ate this alongside a gluten-free flat bread (that turned out crispier than I would have liked), but it would also go well with brown rice or a nice pliable flat bread, like pita. If you want to up the spice (again, this might depend on the curry powder you choose), add a pinch of red pepper flakes at the same time you add the lentils.

Thick Red Curry with Winter Veggies

Curried Red Lentil Stew with Winter Veggies

2 teaspoons oil

1 medium onion, chopped

1 medium sweet potato, chopped

1/4 teaspoon salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1-inch piece ginger, minced

1 cup fresh cauliflower florets

2 tablespoons curry powder**

1 teaspoon black mustard seeds (optional)

3 dried curry leaves (or 1 bay leaf)

1 cup red lentils

3 1/2 cups water

1 cup fresh kale, chopped

Warm the oil in a medium-sized soup pan, over medium-high heat. Add the onion, sweet potato, and salt, and saute 4-5 minutes, until the onion and sweet potato begin to brown. Reduce the heat to medium and add the garlic and ginger. Saute another 2 minutes. Add the remaining ingredients except the kale, bring to a boil, and reduce the heat to low. Cover and allow to simmer 18-20 minutes, until the cauliflower, sweet potatoes, and lentils are soft. 

Stir in the chopped kale and remove from the heat. As soon as the kale has wilted (this took less than a minute for my curly kale), taste and add salt, if necessary. Serve hot.

Special Notes:

*I also chopped some of the green parts of the cauliflower -- about 1/2 cup worth, and added those. Biting into them was a bit like biting into a piece of cabbage in the stew, and something I would do again, but this is definitely up to you. If you do add them, add them 2-3 minutes before you add the kale and before you take the stew off the heat.

**I use a medium-hot curry powder with a moderately high ratio of turmeric. If you use a sweet curry powder, start with 1 tablespoon and add more toward the end, if you desire. As always, it's easier to add than to take away!

Rachael's Happy Curry

This recipe makes a ton of servings, or at least 8-10. My friend Rachael recently made it for me while she was in town. The original recipe comes from Simply in Season and Rachael made a few adjustments to the original recipe, which I tried my best to capture in the recipe below. It's a lovely meal for a cold autumn day. The day we ate it, we'd gone on a long hike in the mountains and for a while we hiked in snow--the first snow of the season, in this part of the country, which felt magical. As Rachael put it at one point when she tried taking a picture of me, "It's okay though, because it's like you're in a fairy tale."

And the entire weekend was like a fairy tale. We saw snow and a bit of a bus, or some other yellow piece of metal deep in the woods. We traipsed through clouds. We hiked through snow that was up to our hips. We scrambled up rocks and back down them. We went to Goodwill and the grocery store and drank local Viongier and local, organic chocolate vodka. We hiked daily, we baked and cooked, we had long conversations. We wandered through the First Friday art walk and looked at beautiful things we (for the most part) knew we couldn't afford. We went on a mini road trip. We talked about how we were both living lifestyles most people we know don't really understand and how small moments, like watching a video a friend of Rachael's made about Holden Village, make us feel like we're making the right decision for us, at this point in our lives.

While Rachael was here, we listened to Iron & Wine while making dinner, to a song, "The Perfect Space" by the Avett Brothers, that made us think of our friend Brenna while we drove on our mini road trip. We listened to Cat Stevens and The Beatles and a short story ("Paper Lantern") by Stuart Dybek, as read by ZZ Packer.

We talked about how we liked working outdoors--though Rachael works outside more than I do and I'm a bit jealous of it--and environmental education. We talked about how much we liked being able to go hiking or kayaking after work and how the best conversations either of us have occur while we're moving around. I felt more grounded, less like I was just existing, in a somewhat grounded way, in this liminal spot. But I also realized I was going to feel sad when Rachael left. I want her to live near me. I only feel that way, at this point, about a couple of people--though there are a lot of people I'd love to see more often. Rachael's a lovely, kind woman and I'm glad she's been such a constant force in my life over the past three and a half years, and especially during the last year as so many other things in my life have felt in transition.

It felt, to me, like having family around and helped me feel more like I belonged in the place I'm in, because Rachael and I were equally interested in having quiet adventures together--not the type that involve going out to the bar, necessarily, or constant entertainment in the traditional sense, but in ways that allowed us to interact with the places near here, with the place I live, with the food we were eating--which was almost entirely local and organic. Her visit made me feel less homesick--and simultaneously more because I knew I'd miss her when she leaved. It made me feel more like an adult. Rachael's someone I don't have to work to be around, which is sometimes the most comforting thing--which I needed more than I expected.

One of the best things about making this curry: that we worked on it together. I baked brown rice, sliced (the recipe calls for minced) garlic and ginger, and found things in my kitchen for Rachael. She worked on the rest and we talked about the things in our life that felt the most immediate, and also listened to a Day of the Dead mix full of wonderful songs. After we'd both had our fill of food, there was plenty of curry left over, so I could think of her as I ate some of the leftovers and send her back on the road with some of it, perfect for eating on the road, presumably while sitting in her distinctive car on her at a lovely vista.

Curry

Rachael's Happy Curry
1 large onion, chopped
1 tableespoon ghee, coconut butter, or olive oil

1 tablespoon garlic, sliced
2 tablespoons ginger, chopped
2 serrano chile peppers, thinly sliced
2 teaspoons curry powder
1/2 teaspoon each: turmeric, ground cumin, black pepper
1/4 teaspoon red pepper flakes
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
2-3 bay leaves

14 ounces coconut milk
1/4 cup tamari (we actually used some marmite and extra water)
3 large tomatoes, diced

1 1/2 cups dried red lentils
5 cups water

1 medium head cauliflower (cut into 1 1/2 inch florets)
1 large sweet potato
1/4 head cabbage (we didn't use this, but I will next time I make it)
1-2 cups peas (again, we didn't use this but next time I will)

Salt

In large saucepan or soup pot over medium-high heat, saute onion in coconut butter or oil, until transparent but not brown. Add garlic through bay leaves and reduce heat to medium-low. Cook and stir constantly for 3 minutes. Do not let spices, garlic, and onion brown. Add the coconut milk, tamari, and tomatoes. Simmer for 20 minutes, stirring often.

Meanwhile, in a saucepan, bring lentils to a boil and simmer for 15 minutes. Add, with liquid to soup pot.

Add the cauliflower, sweet potato, and cabbage to the soup pot and cook until just tender, about 5-10 minutes. If using peas, add at the end of the cooking time. Taste and add salt, if necessary.

Serve hot, over brown rice with toppings (optional) such as: Indian chutneys & pickles, fresh diced pears, roasted sunflower seeds, plain yogurt, or a squeeze of lemon.

Vegan Navratan Korma with Chana Dal

When I visit my parents and we go out for Indian food, this is the dish my mom usually wants to order. It's a stew-like dish, usually made with a cashew-cream sauce (at least at the restaurants we go to). My mom likes the creamy smoothness of the dishes and the "jewels" of vegetables. According to various sources (and menus!) "navratan" means "nine jewels" and refers to the mixture of vegetables in this dish.

The restaurants we've had this at in the past generally make it in a North Indian style. If you're not familiar with the differences between North and South Indian cuisine, it's kind of like nothern versus southern Italian food. Northern Indian cooking is more cream-based while southern Indian cuisine relies more heavily on tomatoes (among other differences). This recipe blends north and south Indian cooking styles, which adds a bit of complexity to the meal.

This recipe, modified from one posted at Lisa's Kitchen, is a new staple in my house. I've made it for vegans and non-vegans alike and since I first discovered it in early April, I've made it five times. About three weeks ago, I had a bunch of people over for a potluck (in theory it was an Indian-food themed potluck, but it only kind of worked out that way) and this dish went quickly, despite the fact that I more than doubled it. Reduce the amount of chiles if you like less spice, or if your dried chiles are particularly hot (mine are). It goes well with quinoa or rice, if you're gluten-free (or with gluten-free naan, recipe coming soon). You might serve it with a cooling drink like a smoothie, mango lassi, or even (wrong culture, I know) horchata.

If you're not into eating tons of leftovers and you don't need to feed 8, the recipe cuts in half fairly easily. That's what I usually do when I'm not feeding a large crowd. If you buy your ingredients in bulk and/or at an Indian/Pakistani (these are my options) food market, you make this meal cheaply many times over.

Vegan Navratan Korma with Chana Dal

2/3 cup of chana dal (or yellow split peas), soaked for at least three hours
2 tablespoons of high quality vegetable oil
1 small sweet onion, finely chopped
2 tomatoes, finely chopped
2 1/4 cups of water
1 large potato, diced
3 large carrots, diced
2 cups frozen peas
1 teaspoon of turmeric
1/4 teaspoon of cayenne
1 1/2 teaspoons of sea salt
handful of dry curry leaves (optional, but they make a lovely addition if you can get your hands on them. Fresh would work also)

For the paste:

1/2 cup of dried, unsweetened coconut
1/4 cup of cashews
1 teaspoon of coriander seeds
1 teaspoons of cumin seeds
2-3 whole dried red chilies
2-inch piece of ginger, chopped

For the tadka:

1 teaspoon of black mustard seeds
1 teaspoon fennel seeds (optional)
pinch or two of asafetida (you can sub in about a tablespoon of lime juice in a pinch, but it won’t be the same) 2- 4 whole dried red chilies

Begin by making the paste. Soak the coconut in 1/2 cup of hot water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Soak the cashews in some warm water for 10 - 15 minutes. Drain. Dry roast the cumin seeds, coriander seeds, and dried red chili over medium heat for a few minutes. Transfer the coconut, cashews and roasted seeds to a food processor or blender along with the ginger and green chilies. Process until you have a fairly smooth paste (in my food processor, this takes some pulsing and some additional water – you’d like this to look as much like cashew butter as possible). Add a bit of water if desired.

Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. When hot, toss in the onion and stir and fry until it is translucent. Add the tomatoes to the pot and cook for another 5 minutes or until they thicken up and have a sauce-like consistency. Drain the chana dal and add to the pot along with 2 1/4 cups of water. Simmer, covered, for about 10 minutes, or until the chana dal is just tender. Add the carrots, potato, turmeric and cayenne. Continue to simmer until the vegetables are tender. You can add more water to achieve your desired consistency.
Now add the ground paste to the pot and the sea salt. Reduce the heat to medium low and cook for another 10 - 15 minutes. Add peas and curry leaves to the pan near the end of the cooking time.

To prepare the tadka, heat a few teaspoons of oil in a small saucepan over medium heat. When hot, toss in the mustard seeds, fennel, dried red chilies, and asafetida. Stir and fry until the mustard and fennel seeds begin to pop. Immediately pour into the vegetable pot, stir and cover and let sit for 5 minutes to allow the flavours to blend.

Serves 8.

Red Indian Stew for Just a Few

This dish can be as mild or spicy as you like--and if you prefer more spicy than someone you'll be eating it with, kick the spice up some and serve the stew with a dollop of yogurt, which can be mixed in to cut the heat for those people with more sensitive tongues.

One of the great things about this stew is that it is rather forgiving. If you don't have the exact ingredients listed below, substitute--especially when it comes to your choice of protein. I've used chickpeas, Quorn, TVP crumbles, lentils, navy beans, shrimp, squid, and kidney beans in this in the past. This particular incarnation calls for lentils, because that's what I had on hand, and the end of this summer's zuchinni.

Dad came up the original vegetarian version of this stew--it originally used chicken--and then modified it to suit our tastes.

Red Indian Stew for Just a Few
2 teaspoons Garam Masala
+/- ½ tablespoon crushed red pepper
1/2 teaspoon tres ochos pepper (optional, for additional heat)
1/2 tablespoon paprika
2 teaspoons vegetable oil
3/4 cup chopped onions
Salt
Freshly ground black pepper
1 large zuchinni, chopped
2 medium potatoes, chopped
1 carrot, chopped
2 ounces dried brown lentils
1 clove chopped garlic
1 cup canned tomatoes, chopped or diced
1 teaspoons grated fresh ginger
3 cups vegetable stock
1 cup chopped cabbage
Yogurt, optional

In a small bowl, combine the Garam Masala, crushed red pepper, and paprika. Mix well. Set aside.

Heat oil in a medium saute pan, over medium heat, When the oil is hot, add the onions to the pan, sauté until golden brown and season with salt and pepper. Add the zuchinni, potatoes, and carrot. Saute 3-5 minutes. Add the lentils, garlic, tomatoes and ginger. Continue to sauté for 1 – 3 minutes.

Add the stock and bring the liquid to a boil. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low and simmer for about 15 minutes or until the potatoes and lentils tender. Add the cabbage and cook another 3-4 minutes, until the cabbage has just started to cook. Remove from the heat and serve with rice or naan, and a dollop of yogurt (optional). Serves 3-4, depending on your appetite!