Hello friends!
Yep. Still gallivanting. But now I’ve got your savory fix: meet Ramona of Curry and Comfort. Another friend I made way back when on FoodBuzz, I am constantly drooling over her curries and stir fries. She makes it so easy to whip up flavorful and spicy dishes, and Ramona’s one of the few food bloggers I follow who knows how to capture brilliant photos of brown/orange/amber foods. 
Take it away Miss Queen of Curry!
Hi Everyone! My name is Ramona and come to you today from a little blog called Curry and Comfort. My blog is dedicated not only to all the curry foods I love, but also the American comfort foods that I grew up eating. It’s basically all the food I love to eat and cook for my family. Today I am so excited to guest post here at Jess’ blog. Jess has been such a wonderful friend in the blogging world. Today I decided to give a little “curry love” to her blog with this very fun and easy vegan lentil dish. This dish can be made very mild or you can spice things up to your taste. I love this dish and literally ate it over rice for lunch and dinner the day I made it. My favorite part is it is a fantastic one pot curry and it’s pretty darn easy. Most of the ingredients are not too exotic… so you should be able to find them in either your local supermarkets or Indian grocery stores. I hope you enjoy….
Ingredients:
- 2 cups masoor lentils washed well
- 3-4 cups water (more as needed)
- 1/2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1/2 inch small cinnamon stick
- 4 cups chopped fresh tomatoes (ripe)
- 1 Tbs cumin seeds
- 1/2 Tbs mustard seeds
- 10-15 curry leaves (optional)
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- red chili flakes/red chili powder to taste
- 1 medium onion diced
- 1-2 green chilies sliced ( I used Serrano chilies, you can use jalapenos chilies)
- 2-3 cloves of garlic finely minced or grated
- 1 Tbs fresh ginger grated
- salt to taste
- 1/2 cup coconut milk (optional) I cooked mine without any milk, it was still creamy.
Directions:
Wash lentils well with cold water until water runs clear.
Place in a large pan with water, cinnamon stick and turmeric.
Boil for 20-25 minutes until water is cooked out and lentils are very tender. You should be able to mash between your fingers.
Set aside until later.
In a separate skillet/large pan heat 1 Tbs of canola oil until hot on medium high heat. Add cumin seeds, mustard seeds and curry leaves. When seeds begin to splutter, add onion, chili, ginger, and garlic.
Saute for 1-2 minutes. Then add chopped tomatoes, cumin powder, salt, and red chili powder.
Cook for 10-12 minutes until tomatoes cook down and juices come out.
Add prepared cooked lentils and mix well.
Taste for salt and seasoning.
The lentils will not require any milk because the tomatoes juices will provide enough creaminess.
If necessary and 1/2 cup coconut milk.
