Betsys Lentil and Couscous Curry
1 1/2 cup dried red lentils
1 cup uncooked couscous
1/2 onion, chopped
1 clove garlic, finely chopped or crushed
chopped fresh vegetables (peppers, zucchini, carrots, broccoli, etc.)
1 tablespoon olive oil
2 teaspoons turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon coriander
1 1/2 to 2 cups vegetable broth
salt and pepper to taste
Soak lentils for several hours prior to cooking (or follow instructions on bag).
Heat olive oil on medium heat. Add onion, garlic, turmeric, cumin, and coriander. Cook for 3 minutes.
Add chopped vegetables. Cook for about 6-8 minutes or until vegetables are somewhat tender but not completely cooked.
Add lentils and 1 cup of vegetable broth. Bring to a boil. Bring down heat and let simmer for about 20 minutes or until curry thickens and lentils are tender, stirring occasionally.
Add more broth as needed. Add extra spices as desired.
Cook couscous according to instructions on package. Add to curry and mix well. Add salt and pepper to taste.
SO HOW'D IT GO?
so to a single serving of this (~ 1/2 cup) i added ~3-4 tablespoons coconut milk, juice from 1/4 lime, ~1 teaspoon cumin, ~1/2 teaspoon chili powder (pure chili, not the mexican spice mix), 1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger, 1 fat clove garlic minced and cooked it all together and it is DELICIOUS!.. so if you wanna do a lot of adding to this recipe i highly recommend this version.. its sooooo good.. and when its cold you can use it as a sandwich spread :D
Wow, this is a really different kind of curry, very interesting and a great change from the norm. I also found it a bit bland.. you really need to up the ante with the spices to get a good flavour as the described spices just aren't enough for the huge amount of food produced with this recipe. I would at least halve the amount of cous cous next time, as I found it a bit overpowering (even though I didn't put the whole cup in). To finish mine off, I added a spoon full of mixed raw nuts, seeds and sultanas. YUM!! (veges I used were potato, pumpkin, zucchini, tomato, carrot & green peas. next time, I'll use mushrooms too!)
This was a nice lentil dish, but didnt taste very curry-like.. it was pretty tasty tho.. it would be really good with a nice crisp salad.. i was unsure about the couscous mixed into the curry but it works very well..
i only used 3/4 cup of couscous, and used curry powder instead of coriander, cuz i didnt have any..
also, the veggies i used were napa cabbage, broccoli, carrot, radish, bell pepper, scotch bonnet pepper, and mango.. it all prolly added up to about 3 cups all together
i used creole seasoning for the salt and pepper, and used the full 2 cups of stock.. also i added a bay leaf, citronelle bay leaf and a strip of kombu to the cooking liquid to give it a little more flavor..
again, this was good, but a little plain, and i will prolly make something more traditionally indian tasting next time i have red lentils.. thanks for the good idea to mix couscous into lentils tho!