Coconut Curry Yellow Lentil Soup

Well, it has been a fun hiatus, but fortunately (or unfortunately, since you all now have to deal with me) I'm officially back - this time with an actual recipe! Yes, folks, I'm actually cooking again. I thought I lost my touch since, prior to this evening, my biggest culinary endeavor was heating up a Trader Joe's masala burger. Thankfully for my taste buds and the sake of the blog, I didn't lose my cooking prowess.



Since it's bitterly cold, I decided to make my favorite comfort meal: soup. So, I threw together some ingredients that I thought would complement each other well, and ended up with a creamy, stick-to-your-ribs soup that will provide a week's worth of warm bowls to help ease those freezing nights.


Coconut curry yellow lentil soup
Ingredients
- 1 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 1 carrot, diced
- 1 rib celery, diced
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2t ginger, minced
- 1 russet potato, peeled & diced
- 1 1/2 cups split yellow lentils, uncooked
- 2 cups brown rice, cooked
- 4 cups vegetable broth or stock
- 1 15oz can coconut milk
- 2t curry powder (I make my own, but use what you have on hand)
- 1t garam masala
- Juice of half a lemon
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Rinse lentils. Add them to 4 cups water, bring to a boil and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until they just begin to get tender. Drain and set aside.
- Saute aromatics (I used coconut oil) until translucent. Add stock, coconut milk, cooked lentils, potato and spices. Bring to a simmer and cook until potato is fork tender and soup is thickened. Add cooked brown rice at the last few minutes to heat through. Finish off with cilantro, a squeeze of fresh lemon juice, and serve!

Serves 6



Definitely give this soup a try. It has a nice heat, though not overpowering, and is totally and completely warming. It's also wonderfully thick and hearty, and left me full for hours. Followed by a cup of green tea and a ginger chew, I was a happy girl.



Oh, and you're not going crazy. I am back to using Organically Me. So, rest assured, I'm the crazy (indecisive) one. But I feel at home here, and that's all that matters.

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Indian Food Basics

In my opinion, channa masala is the quintessential vegetarian Indian dish. It is usually the first that many people try and the one most associate with vegetarian Indian cuisine. I haven't cooked an Indian dish in a while and when I was thinking of what to make, I realized that I hadn't posted about channa masala on the blog before. I've made crockpot aloo channa before, which is great, but channa masala still holds a place in my heart because it's the dish that made me fall in love with Indian food. That being said, my recipe is great, but nowhere near as good as that found in Indian restaurants. Then again, isn't that always the case? Indian food is never as good when made at home. This is still pretty darn fantastic, though.

Channa masala

Ingredients

- 1/2 large yellow onion, finely chopped

- 1 clove garlic, minced

- 1 jalapeno, de-seeded and minced

- 1 tsp grated ginger

- 1 tbsp fat of choice (Earth Balance, olive oil, canola oil)

- 3 cups cooked chickpeas

- 1 15oz can diced tomatoes

- 1 tbsp tomato paste

- Juice of half a lemon

- 2 tsp curry powder (use your preferred blend, or just add the separate spices in my blend according to taste)

- 1 tsp garam masala

- Salt, to taste

Instructions

- Heat fat in a large pan on medium low heat. Add onions, stir, and cook for 8-10 minutes, or until they begin to turn golden brown.

- Add garlic, ginger and jalapeno and cook for another minute or two. Now, add tomato paste and cook for 2-3 minutes to allow the tomato flavor to intensify.

- Add curry powder and stir to combine. Add diced tomatoes and chickpeas and continue to cook on medium low for 5-10 minutes, or until everything is heated through. At the very last minute, add garam masala and lemon juice and give everything a final stir. Serve with roti or brown rice and try not to sweat too much from the heat (I used one spicy pepper).

Serves 4

I've talked to many people who said that Indian food intimidates them. Recipes tend to include a lot of foreign ingredients and it may seem overwhelming, but don't let it deter you. Actually, Indian food is one of my favorites to prepare because I love the aromas and the beautiful color tumeric adds to anything. Perfecting channa masala is like a gateway to other Indian dishes; I first made this over a year ago and it has taken me months to narrow down a recipe that I find truly delicious. It's also easy and inexpensive to make (I prepared mine in the time it took my rice to cook) and stores beautifully.

Happy Friday!

Curry Kick: Stuffed Squash

Confession: I've never eaten an acorn squash. I've had other squashes, such as butternut and spaghetti, but never acorn. So, when I saw it at Trader Joe's for an excellent price, I grabbed the biggest one I could find. Tonight I knew I wanted to crack it open, but I didn't know what to do with it. I heard that roasting it with maple syrup was great, but I wanted something a little outside the box. In true Indian Wednesday fashion, I made something with a little curry kick.


Curry quinoa stuffed acorn squash
Ingredients
- 1/2 large acorn squash (reserve seeds)
- 1 tsp olive oil + more for drizzling

- 1/2 cup quinoa
- 1 cup water + 2 tbsp
- 1/2 medium yellow onion, finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 2/3 cup frozen peas
- Reserved acorn squash seeds
- 1 1/2 tsp curry powder
- 1/2 tsp garam masala
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Preheat oven to 400.
- Cut acorn squash in half using a very sharp, stable knife. Scoop out insides and set aside.
- Drizzle 1 tsp olive oil on acorn squash half and season lightly with S&P. Roast for 45-50 minutes or until golden brown and tender.
- Clean the seeds, removing as much pulp as possible, toss them in S&P and a tiny drizzle of olive oil (or non-stick spray) and roast them in the oven with the squash for 8-10 minutes or until golden.
- While squash cooks, prepare quinoa. Add quinoa, curry powder and a pinch of salt to water and bring to a boil, stirring to dissolve the curry. Once boiling, turn to a simmer, cover and cook for 15-20 minutes or until water is absorbed.
- In a skillet, saute onions and garlic on medium heat until translucent and soft. Add peas and 2 tbsp water and cook until peas are heated through. Turn on low and stir in quinoa and toasted squash seeds.
- Once squash is cooked, add about 3/4 cup of the quinoa mixture to the cavity, drizzle with olive oil and return to the oven for 5 minutes. Store the rest of the curry quinoa for lunch the next day!




Aside from battling the squash and almost losing my hand in the process, this recipe was a complete success. The acorn squash was roasted perfectly; it was sweet, tender and melted in my mouth. That combined with the aromatic, slightly spicy curry made for a truly delectable contrast. This dish isn't too spicy, but has just enough kick to elevate the flavor of the squash. Now I can't wait to experiment with the other half!

In other, personal news: Today I switched my major from English to Nutrition. This is a HUGE change for me and I'm essentially starting college from scratch. I'm scared, I know it will be incredibly difficult (especially since science doesn't come easy for me), but I'm so, so excited to begin this journey. I don't think any other career will make me happier. :)

Back At It

I was aching to cook an actual meal after not doing so in days, but I had to whip out something pretty quickly tonight after not getting home until dinner time. I dabbled with the idea of just heating up some canned soup, but then decided I needed to cook. I searched around and settled on Indian food because a) it's healthy, b) it's easy and c) I'm in love with it. I was a little apprehensive about cooking dinner because we haven't exactly been seeing eye to eye lately (re: my dinner fails) but thankfully this came out wonderfully. I guess that means I'm back on my game again.


Bhindi Masala (Okra)
Ingredients
- 1/2 lb okra, sliced into rounds
- 1 onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 1 tomato, diced
- 1 green bell pepper, diced
- 1 jalapeno, minced
- 3 tbsp soy yogurt
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of half a lemon
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 2 bay leaves
- 5-6 torn mint leaves, for garnish
- Sea salt (save for the end)

Instructions
- Wash and dry okra. Make sure it's completely dried before cooking.
- In a large skillet, cook onions, garlic, jalapeno, bay leaves and ginger in olive oil until translucent on medium to medium-high heat. Add green pepper and cook until soft. Once soft, add okra and stir.
- After about 10 minutes, remove bay leaves and add soy yogurt, curry powder and lemon. Stir to combine and turn the heat down to low. Cook for an additional 5-10 minutes or until everything is softened and the mixture takes on a slightly creamy consistency.
- Add salt before serving and garnish with mint. Make sure not to add salt until just before serving.



From start to finish, this dish took less than 30 minutes. In fact, most of the time was spent chopping vegetables. It's time efficient, incredibly flavorful and warming for both the heart and stomach (and nasal passages). Every time I eat an Indian dish I become more and more enamoured. Despite its ability to look completely disgusting in photographs, I find it beautiful. Good thing I have a lot of my curry powder left and the fixin's to make more!


The sweet potato is there because it looked like it needed to be eaten.

It's nice to be back in my cooking groove.

Cookies and Dal

Why is it always nicer to wake up when you know you have a delicious breakfast waiting for you in the fridge? This morning I couldn't wait to get up and finish my yoga session so I could give into this delicious breakfast cookie:


1/2 cup oats, 1 tbsp rice protein, 1/2 tbsp cocoa powder, 1 tbsp dark chocolate pb, 1/8 cup soy milk, raspberries and gojis topped with banana and a cocoa dusting (I seriously love doing this).



I also love making food presentations look nice. Even though I'm spending time making food look pretty that is just for me, it's nice to treat myself to something that both taste and looks good. Why should we just throw stuff on a plate and eat it? I am important to myself and I deserve to take a little extra time to make things a bit special.

For lunch I decided to make red lentil dal, which is one of the dishes I planned to make last night. It was super simple to make; most time was spent waiting for the lentils to cook.


Red lentil dal
Ingredients
- 1/2 cup red lentils, rinsed and picked through
- 1 1/2 cups water or vegetable stock
- 2 tsp coconut oil
- 1/2 onion, finely chopped
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced
- 1/2 finger hot chili, de-seeded and minced
- 2 tsp homemade curry powder (or whatever you have on hand)
- 2 tsp tomato paste
- 1/4 tsp cinnamon
- 1 tbsp parsley or cilantro, some reserved for garnish
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Add coconut oil to a skillet on medium/medium-high heat. Add aromatics and saute until translucent and softened.
- Once translucent, add curry powder and stir constantly to combine. Once combined, add lentils and vegetable stock (or water). Bring to a boil and simmer for 15-20 minutes, or until most of the water is absorbed and lentils are tender. Serve hot and garnish with chopped tomato and extra herbs if desired.


I had mine with carrots, kiwi and half of the most best pita I've ever had (from the Winter Park farmers market).


The texture and heat of this dish was spot on, but unfortunately it was too salty for my tastes. I think next time I'll either use water instead of stock, or use salt-free stock. It wasn't overwhelmingly salty, but I tend to like my food on the less salty side. That aside, this dish was easy, fast and deliciously heart warming. Dare I say it was dal-icious? I know, I know.

Bangin' Baingan Bharta

Say that five times fast. A few days ago I made my own curry powder using spices from this local spice shop called Roots and Leaves because I find that cheap pre-made curry blends aren't pungent enough. Whenever I've made curry dishes it always tasted flat, which means either my Indian cooking skills or my curry powder isn't up to par. Well, clearly my ego blamed the curry powder, so tonight was a chance to test my assumption. I made Baingan Bharta, which is a mashed eggplant dish from Northern India. Traditionally it's made with garam masala instead of a curry powder blend, but the blend I chose used many spices found in garam masala already, so I figured I killed two birds. To be on the safe side, I added an extra pinch of freshly ground cinnamon at the end for a little aromatic kick.


Baingan Bharta
Ingredients
- 1 large eggplant
- 2 tomatoes, diced
- 1 large onion, finely chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp grated ginger
- 1 green chili, minced
- 1 tbsp olive oil + a touch for rubbing the eggplant
- 2 tsp curry powder (I used this recipe, without the caraway and mace)
- 2 crushed bay leaves
- 1/4 tsp ground cinnamon
- S&P, to taste

Instructions
- Set oven to low broil setting. Rub the outside of the eggplant with olive oil, place on a baking sheet and broil for 15 minutes or until eggplant collapses and flesh is slightly charred. Allow to cool, then peel the skin and set flesh aside in a large bowl.
- Take half of the diced tomatoes and puree in a blender.
- In a large skillet, saute aromatics in olive oil until translucent. Add both tomato puree and diced tomatoes and cook on medium-medium high heat for 5 minutes or until they start to create a broth.
- Add curry powder and crushed bay leaves. Stir to combine.
- Mash eggplant flesh and add it to the skillet. Stir thoroughly to combine and cook for 10 additional minutes. In the last minute, add cinnamon and stir. Serve with roti or rice and enjoy!


I know this isn't much to look at, but God it's delicious. I love Indian food. Truthfully, I actually haven't had it out much; most of the Indian food experiences I've had have come out of my own kitchen. I'm not sure exactly how my Indian food would match up to dishes found in restaurants made by actual Indian people, but I think what I've done is pretty great. I left the meal with a stuffy nose and a full belly, which is perfectly fine by me.



I'll leave you with a quote from Eat, Pray, Love which really hit me today:

"To find the balance you want," Ketut spoke through his translator, "this is what you must become. You must keep your feet grounded so firmly on the earth that it's like you have four legs, instead of two. That way, you can stay in the world. But you must stop looking at the world through your head. You must look through your heart, instead. that way, you will know God" (27).

I'm only about 50 pages into this book and I'm already completely and utterly captivated. Oh, and by the way, the curry powder was totally to blame because this dish was awesome and the curry powder was incredibly pungent. Win, win!

Chicks and Pot

last night I soaked a heaping cup of chickpeas with hopes of making falafel. The falafel plans fell through (for now!) but I wanted to do something with the chickpeas. I've had intense Indian food cravings due to Gina, so I knew exactly what to do with my soaked 'peas.



Crockpot aloo chana
Serves four

Ingredients
- 1 cup dry chickpeas
- 1 large russet potato, or two medium
- 1 15 oz can crushed tomatoes
- 1 cup of reserved chickpea cooking liquid
- 1 tbsp olive oil
- Juice of 1 lemon, zest of half
- 1 tbsp tomato paste
- 2 small yellow onions, chopped
- 3 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 tsp ginger, grated
- Cilantro, for garnish
- Green onion, for garnish

Spices
- 1 tsp cumin
- 1/2-1 tsp tumeric
- 1/2 tsp cayenne powder
- 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
- 1/2 tsp cinnamon
- 1/2 tsp nutmeg
- 1/2 tsp clove
- opt: 1/4 tsp curry powder
- S&P


Instructions:
- Soak chickpeas overnight in at least 3 cups of water. To cook, rinse and drain soaked chickpeas and put into a large pot with 1-2 garlic clove(s) and enough water to cover chickpeas by 3 inches. Bring to a boil, then simmer for an hour.
- Heat a large skillet on medium-low heat. Add half the olive oil, then add spices. Stir continuously until spices turn one shade darker and you can smell a delicious aroma begin to fill your nose.
- Add onions and garlic along with the remaining oil. Stir to coat them in spices and saute for 2-3 minutes.
- Add crushed tomatoes and stir to combine. Cook for 2 minutes.
- Add tomato/spice mixture, along with cooked chickpeas, potatoes, ginger and lemon into a crockpot. Set on high for 3-4 hours or low for 4-6 hours. It's done when the house smells like amazing, aromatic spices and your stomach is desperately grumbling. Garnish with cilantro and/or green onions and serve plain or with rice. Enjoy!




This was perfectly spiced. I wasn't running for the water but I wasn't missing any heat, either. There was a note of aromatic sweetness but also a nice kick. It was definitely the best Indian dish that I've ever made and it was easy! Don't let the long instructions scare you, the prep time takes 10 minutes (minus the soaking) at most, then the rest is done in the crockpot. I'm so glad I have leftovers because it will probably taste even better in the morning. I need more Indian food in my life.