Culinary Escapade

We tend to eat a lot of meat and not enough vegetables in this household. In an effort to eat a little healthier or at the very least introduce something green to our diet, I decided to make a spinach and lentil curry.

I tried making this dish before and it never tasted right. There was always something missing. It always tasted kind of bland. Basically, not quite right. I then learned that I was missing a crucial final step that involved cooking spices and garlic in oil and mixing it into the curry. This time around, it tasted right.

A confession – while I enjoyed the dish; my husband Eric, not so much. He thought it tasted odd. We finally figured out that he did not like the taste of spinach. He likes baby spinach, but apparently not the stronger taste of regular spinach. Next time I’ll use baby spinach or maybe even some other vegetable.

Spinach and Lentil Curry

3/4 cups split yellow mung lentils
1 onion, sliced
4 cups water
1 inch knob fresh ginger, peeled and cut into thin strips
3 green chillies
¾ tsp turmeric powder
2 tomatoes puréed
200g spinach leaves
salt to taste
1½ tbsp ghee, butter or vegetable oil
1 tsp cumin seeds
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 tsp coriander powder
½ tsp garam masala
Coriander leaves, for garnish

Method

- Fry the onion in a little oil, until slightly brown.

- Add lentils, water, ginger, lentils, chillies and turmeric. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium and simmer for 10 minutes.

- Stir in the tomatoes and simmer for another 20 minutes.

- Add spinach and salt and cook for 10 minutes or until the lentils have started to break down.

- In the meantime heat the ghee, butter or oil in a small pan. Add the cumin seeds and garlic and fry until the seeds start to brown and the garlic smells fragrant. Be careful not to burn the spices.

- Stir in the coriander and garam masala and pour the spice mixture into the pan of lentils.

- Allow the curry to cook another minute and serve with plain rice. Garnish with coriander leaves if desired.