From the story: Delicious Life.
This is an extremely versatile curry dish; you can substitute your favorite vegetables and spices for those specified. If you choose to use tofu, omit the russet potatoes. If you use russet potatoes, omit the tofu. You can also use brown or red lentils. I prefer precooked lentils because they have already expanded and you can control the thickness of the stew. Uncooked lentils will expand and may be too thick or not thick enough for your taste. If you want to ladle the stew over rice, you might prefer a saucier consistency.
Lentil Vegetable Vegan Stew - Indian Style
Servings 6
Ingredients
- 2 cups precooked lentils (can cook yourself or buy pre-cooked) red or brown (Trader Joe's carries pre-cooked)
- 1 block extra-firm tofu, cut into-1 inch cubes omit if using russet potatoes
- 1 14-ounce can crushed tomatoes
- 1 13.5-ounce can coconut milk, full fat, or coconut cream
- 2 cups vegetable broth
- 2 tablespoons creamy almond butter
- ½ cup fresh cilantro, chopped
- 1 teaspoon Celtic, Himalayan, or kosher sea salt to taste
- ⅛ teaspoon black pepper to taste
- 3 large garlic cloves, diced or pressed to taste
- 3 inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced to taste
- 1 medium serrano pepper, diced adjust to preferred heat
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric or 1 tablespoon minced fresh turmeric
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons curry powder
- 1 teaspoon garam masala optional
- 1 tablespoon virgin coconut oil
- 1 small zucchini, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ small sweet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes
- ½ medium russet potato, peeled and cut into 1-inch cubes omit if using tofu
- ⅛ cup spinach, chopped into small pieces optional
For Tempering Seeds.
- ½ teaspoon yellow mustard seeds
- ½ teaspoon fennel seeds
- ½ teaspoon fenugreek seeds
- 1 tablespoon grapeseed or coconut oil, or ghee
Instructions
Prepare lentils.
- Boil lentils according to instructions on bag. Drain and set aside. If you are using precooked lentils in a package, skip this step.
Prepare sweet and russet potatoes and zucchini.
- Parboil potatoes. Boil enough water in small pot to cover potatoes. While water is boiling, peel sweet and russet potatoes and cut into 1-inch cubes. Omit the russet potatoes if you are using tofu. (Likewise, if you are using potatoes, omit the tofu.)
- When water begins to boil, add potato cubes. Bring back to boil, then reduce heat to medium-low and simmer until tender to the fork but not completely cooked through--about 10 minutes. It is important to be sure they are not fully cooked because they will continue cooking in the stew and might become mushy. Drain potatoes and set aside.
- Parboil zucchini. Boil enough water in small pot to cover zucchini. When water begins to boil, add zucchini cubes. Reduce heat to medium-low and simmer five minutes or less until tender to the fork but not completely cooked through. Drain and set aside.
Assembling stew.
- Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil to deep, large pan and heat over medium-high. Once oil is hot, add ginger, garlic, and serrano pepper and cook for 3 minutes, stirring to prevent burning. If using fresh turmeric, add it here. If you are using turmeric powder, add it with the other spices in the next step.
- Place the following spices on a plate and add them to large pan above: 1 teaspoon Celtic, Himalayan, or kosher sea salt, black pepper, ground turmeric (if using instead of fresh), ground coriander, curry powder, and optional garam masala. Cook 10 to 20 seconds to release fragrance. Watch over it the entire time to be sure it doesn't burn.
- Add vegetable broth. Bring to a boil over high heat, and immediately turn heat down to medium.
- Add crushed tomatoes. Mix.
- Add cooked lentils, a little at a time. This way you can adjust the thickness of the stew to your liking. You do not have to use the entire 2 cups.
- Stir completely. Make sure the mixture is simmering.
- Add sweet potatoes, russet potatoes (or tofu), and zucchini. Stir completely.
- Leave on simmer, covered, for 15 minutes.
- Add coconut milk or cream. Stir. Bring the mixture back up to simmer.
- Add spinach. Stir.
- When potatoes are soft, add almond butter--a little at a time to gauge creaminess and thickness. If you see that the mixture is getting to the consistency you like, you can stop before you use up the entire amount. If it is too thin, continue adding from the remaining almond butter. Let it melt while stirring. Keep on low heat for 2 minutes. It will become creamier and thicker.
- Taste batch to decide whether to tweak the spices and choose which spices you'd like to increase. Sprinkle a little at a time and continue tasting until it is at desired level. Turn off heat and temper the seeds (below). Once they are tempered, turn the heat back on to simmer and continue to complete the dish.
Tempering the seeds.
- Tempering is done to release the spices' essential oils and bring out their flavor. Once this process begins and the seeds are in the hot oil, it takes only seconds for them to cook. Therefore, be ready with measured amounts of each seed before heating the oil.
- Using either a tempering pot or a small pan, add either grapeseed oil, coconut oil, or ghee (your option). Stand over the stove during this process, as it is quick and you do not want the oil or seeds to burn. (If you burn the seeds, you must start over again. Burnt seeds will ruin your dish.)
- As the oil or ghee heats, test it to see if it is hot enough by adding a few mustard seeds--if they pop or sizzle, the oil is ready. To this, quickly add the remaining mustard, fennel, and fenugreek seeds. The seeds will begin to crackle or pop. At this point you can cover the pan while they are splattering, but very quickly remove the cover. The seeds should be ready to add to your final dish within seconds.
Completing the dish after tempering the seeds.
- When the seeds are tempered, turn heat back on the main stew and bring it once again to a simmer. Add tempered mustard, fennel, and fenugreek seeds. Mix.
- Taste and adjust.
- Add cilantro.
- Stir. It is now ready to eat. (If you prefer it to be even thicker, let simmer a little longer as liquid evaporates more.)
- Serve over a bed of rice or on its own.
Notes
This dish is delicious freshly made and leftovers are equally delicious. The spices take on a new dimension as they marry in the refrigerator overnight. The stew will keep in the refrigerator for 3 to 4 days. It's great over basmati rice.
