Bean Lentil Tomato Curry
My girlfriend and I used to go to Indian restaurants all the time. We lived in the San Francisco Bay Area. We loved Indian foods. When she was diagnosed with cancer, we first went vegetarian, and then attended the Dr McDougall 10 day program. I knew from Indian cuisine that food without meat could taste amazing. My goal from the very beginning of adopting this way of eating was to learn how to make food that tasted as good as my favorite Indian restaurants. I did not want to give up food. I wanted my food to taste even better than it ever had.
Basic lentil and bean tomato based curry. A curry is just a stew, a thicker, heartier version of a soup. Its preparation is much the same as a soup. Uses curry method and associated skills. Uses moderate skill with spice ingredients.
Curry Method
- Prepare spice mix.
- Brown and simmer the base vegetables and aromatics.
- Blend base vegetables and spices.
- Add main ingredients and simmer.
- Finish citrus and salt.
Indian homes often use prepared ginger garlic paste and spice mixes. Chopping garlic and ginger finely and simmering, toasting fresh whole spices, and using a high speed blender to blend together smoothly accomplishes the same. No need for spice grinder, or mortar and pestle. And result is very smooth sauce. Order and preparation habits, such as gathering ingredients and tools, helps.
Spice Mix
Don’t be put off by the ingredient count. If you view the spice mix as a single ingredient, prepared ahead of time, the recipe become simple. Instead of 1-2 individual spices typical of European cooking, Indian cooking uses spice mixes and skills of toasting and grinding whole spices. Ginger and garlic are key tastes. Cumin, corriander and black pepper are fundamental spices. Black pepper is base heat with extra heat from chili. Other spices such as cloves, cardomon, cinnamon and fenugreek are optional. This is everyday cooking for millions of Indian homes.
Makes ~3 cups
BASE
1/2 onion
2 plum tomatoes
1/2 cup tomato sauce
1/4 cup soaked cashews (8 nuts) (optional)
1/2-1 cup water or vegetable broth
SPICE
2 cloves garlic
12 thin slices ginger (1/4 in)
TOASTED WHOLE
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/4 tsp fenugreek seeds
1/8 tsp black peppercorn
1/8 tsp cloves
1/8 tsp cardamon
1/2 chili arbol
POWDER
1/8 tsp cinnamon powder
1/8 tsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp salt
MAIN
1 cup lentils cooked
1/2 cup kidney or pinto beans cooked
FINISH
1/2 lime juice
- Soak cashews in water.
- In dry stainless steel pot on low heat, toast whole spices and chilies, then cool.
- In large dry stainless steel pot on low heat, brown onions. Add chopped tomatoes, garlic and ginger and continue to brown and steam, stir and add spash of water as necessary.
- In high speed blender, blend low then medium-high vegetables, toasted spices and soaked cashews.
- Move stainless steel pot to very low heat (hot plate), and pour blended base into pot. Scrape blender and rinse with reserved water and add to pot. Add spice powders and salt. Simmer 10m and taste.
- Add cooked lentils and beans, mix and simmer 10m and taste.
- Finish with lime juice and serve.
