Aromatic Lentil Curry

From Impressions of Food, SPC, 1985.

Before making this dish I felt it was important to have all the ingredients ready to go. So I measured out a tablespoon curry powder, a teaspoon each of chilli powder, coriander powder and cumin powder. I chopped two garlic cloves and grated a little fresh ginger. These were the ingredients for the first step.

I then prepared the vegetables. I chopped an onion, a parsnip, a carrot, two celery sticks and half a turnip. I separated some cauliflower florets. I peeled, cored and chopped an apple. I measured out a cup of brown lentils. I took the lid off a can of tomatoes.

Now I added two tablespoons olive oil to a large saucepan and when it was hot added the spices, the garlic and the ginger. I stirred these for a little while until the aroma rose strongly. The vegetables went in next and were stirred for a couple of minutes. Now the rest went in together with 2 cups water and some salt and freshly ground black pepper.

They cooked for about 30 minutes and were served with mango chutney and yoghurt and grated cucumber. Just before serving I squeezed in the juice of half a lime and sprinkled a pinch of sugar into the curry.

While not an out-of-the-ordinary dish this was a reasonable meal. The curry flavour came through strongly but not too strongly to prevent the vegetables being tasted. There was sufficient left for another meal so tonight I’ll make some flat bread to have with it.

Taste: ✔✔✔

Ease of cooking: ✔✔✔