One of my most frequent and protein-packed weeknight curries. It’s one of the quicker curries to make as we’re not using a fresh paste and the cooking time is relatively short.
Lentils are the second most protein rich bean and coupled with chickpeas, this recipe makes a great post-gym ‘big feed’. I tend to serve this with a bowl of rice (you can also swap out for brown), grated coconut and fresh coriander but it’s equally delicious on naan.
Ingredients
T = tablespoon t = teaspoon
3-4 cloves of garlic
½ large white onion
1.5 T curry powder
1T garam masala
½ - 1 T chilli powder
1 T tomato puree
1 can chopped tomatoes
1 can coconut milk
150g dry red lentils
1 can chickpeas
1 handful mangetout (or frozen peas)
2 handfuls fresh spinach
Finely chop the garlic and finely dice the onion. In a large pan heat a splash of oil before adding the garlic and onions. Turn the heat down and stir this frequently for 5 or so minutes until the onions become translucent.
Next we’re going to add our spices: curry powder, garam masala, chilli powder and tomato puree. Give this a really good stir until the onions and garlic are well coated and smelling fragrant.
Pour in your can of chopped tomatoes and then fill half of that can with water and add that too. Mix thoroughly. Leave to simmer on low-medium for 10 minutes until the sauce is starting to reduce.
Rinse your red lentils off then add those and the can of coconut milk to the pot, stir thoroughly and leave for another 15 minutes. After this, drain and rinse your chickpeas and then add those to the mix, stirring well and leaving to simmer for another 5 minutes.
At this point, I like to put my rice on if I’m eating it straight away but you can also leave the curry to enjoy later; I often let it sit for a few hours to let the flavours develop.
Once the curry has thickened well I turn off the heat and add the sugar snap peas (or frozen) and spinach. It’s important to throw these in last to keep the vibrant flavours and colours.
Finally I squeeze juice of a ½ fresh lime into the pot and serve with rice, coriander and desiccated coconut.