Description

This spicy red lentil curry is the ultimate cozy winter dish. It’s super creamy, cozy, and packed with spices.

Ingredients

Scale

1 cup (~190g) red lentils
4 tbsp avocado oil or olive oil
4 cloves garlic, finely minced
2 inch piece of fresh ginger, finely minced
2 serrano peppers, finely minced*
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp cayenne pepper**
½ tsp ground coriander
2 tsp curry powder
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp ground turmeric
1 tsp kosher salt, use more as needed
1 tsp freshly cracked black pepper
1 (13.5-ounce/400 ml) can full-fat coconut milk
1 (14-ounce/400g) can crushed tomatoes
1 tbsp lemon juice
½ cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped

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Instructions

Rinse the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear. Then soak overnight or at least for 6 hours. This will help the lentils cook faster and help improve the absorption of important nutrients.***
Heat a large, deep skillet over medium-high heat and add in the avocado oil or olive oil. Once the oil is shimmering, add in the garlic, ginger, and serrano pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring frequently to prevent the garlic from burning.
Add in the cumin, cayenne pepper, coriander, curry powder, garam masala, turmeric, salt, and black pepper. Cook the aromatics for 30-60 seconds until fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
Add in the lentils, crushed tomatoes, and coconut milk, and mix well. Reduce the heat to low and partially cover the pan with a lid. Simmer on low heat for 20 to 25 minutes, or until the lentils are cooked through and have mostly softened. Once cooked, the curry will thicken and become super creamy. If you find that the lentils are not quite soft after 25 minutes, add a few spoons of water and cook for another 5 minutes.
Turn off the heat and stir in the lemon juice and cilantro. Adjust for salt as needed.
Serve the curry with rice and/or flatbread and garnish with additional cilantro. Store leftovers in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Notes

*Use 1 serrano pepper if you can’t handle too much spice.

**You can decrease the cayenne pepper to 1/2 tsp if you don’t want this curry too hot.

***Keep in mind that the lentils absorb a ton of water when they soak overnight, so if you don’t soak them overnight, you’ll need to add 1 cup of water (plus more as needed) to the curry.