Creamy Brown Lentil Curry

Ingredients

1 cup dry brown lentils
1 cup water* (if needed!)
15 oz (400 g) can crushed or diced tomatoes
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 inch fresh ginger, minced
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper (or to taste)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
2 tablespoons butter or ghee
1/2 cup evaporated milk or cream (can substitute coconut milk or half and half)
salt and pepper – to taste
1/4 bunch fresh cilantro/coriander

Directions

Rinse and pick through the lentils. Boil them in a large pot, covered with a few inches of water, until they’re tender (about 10 – 20 minutes). Drain and set aside for now.
Melt butter or ghee in the now-empty pot, and fry the garlic and ginger for a minute. Add in the spices and the drained lentils. Add in the tomatoes and, if needed, up to 1 cup water, to make a thick stew-like mixture. Simmer for 30 minutes, adding a bit of water if needed.
Once the curry is thickened to your liking, stir in the evaporated milk or cream and garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves. Serve with naan or rice.

My Notes

I doubled the recipe so used a whole 410 gram (14.5 oz) can of evaporated milk that I whisked about 1 tablespoon of chickpea flour into. I tempered some cumin seeds (about 1 teaspoon) in the ghee before adding onion, frying it until light golden before adding in the garlic and ginger. I used about 1/8 teaspoon of Kashmiri chili powder instead of cayenne pepper. I also added in 1 teaspoon of smoked sweet paprika and a teaspoon of dried coriander leaves.

I added in all the water, but this made it too thin and I had to simmer it for quite a long time to get it to thicken up. Next time I’ll start with 1/4 cup water next time and add any more gradually from there.

Doubling the recipe gave us 10 portions, so some has been frozen for later!