Curried Lentils with Tomatoes and Zucchini (Sambaar Dal)

[MylesBAstor]

Great for people on plant based diets or just as a side dish!

Yield: 4 servings

1 cup red lentils
1 tsp. turmeric
3 plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
2 tsp curry poweder
2 tsp. ground coriander
4 shallots, roughly chopped
1 small zucchini, roughly chopped
1/4 bunch cilantro, roughly chopped

Place the lentils, turmeric and 3 cups of water in a sauce pan and bring to a boil. Simmer until the lentils are tender about 15 mins. (add more water while cooking if the lentils are drying out). Season with salt and add the tomatoes. Cook an additional 5 minutes or until the tomatoes have softened.

Heat a saute pan, add enough oil to cover the bottom. Add the curry powder, coriander and shallots and saute until lightly browned and softened. Add the zucchini and cook until softened, about 3 minutes. Add the lentils and adjust the seasoning. Sprinkle with the cilantro.

[Steve Lefkowicz]

Except for the cilantro, that sounds delicious. I'd have to leave the salt out too...

[MylesBAstor]

Except for the cilantro, that sounds delicious. I'd have to leave the salt out too...

I cook without the salt too.

[Johnny Vinyl]

Lovely side dish Myles! I think this would be nice accompaniment with some roasted chicken, either whole or in segments. I'm always amazed at the amount of water absorbed by Lentils.

[Steve Lefkowicz]

My wife has been experimenting with Indian "butter chicken" recipes, trying to match the flavor of our favorite little local Indian restaurant. Trying to do Indian right but keeping healthy for me.
Indian cuisine is one of my favorites, but t's tough, since I'm horribly allergic to cilantro.

[Johnny Vinyl]

I can't claim to be all that proficient when it comes to Indian cuisine, but I try. One of the things I must have when preparing Indian cuisine is Na'an bread and I'm really lucky to have a restaurant close-by (about a 5-minute drive) that makes their own in traditional Tandoori ovens. We usually get about a half-dozen and we never have leftovers...they're that good!

[gjm]

We've just had something similar but different - curried lentils, kidney beans and potato. Perhaps a little carb heavy, especially if served with rice, but very tasty and a nice combination of textures.