Red Lentils

Loving these red lentils with a few additions. I was home sick and didn’t have the tomatoes or coconut milk that other recipes called for, so I looked for simple red lentil recipes that I could improvise with.

Spiced Red Lentil Dal

2 tablespoons peanut oil (used olive oil)
1 large onion, chopped
1 cup celery, chopped
1 cup dried red lentils, washed and picked over
2 tablespoons minced fresh ginger (used powdered ginger)
1 tablespoon minced garlic
1 tablespoon mustard seeds
2 cloves (used a pinch of powdered cloves)
1 teaspoon cracked black pepper
Salt
2 tablespoons cold butter (optional) (used this)
Chopped fresh cilantro leaves for garnish. (used scallions)
2 cups baby spinach

1. Put oil in a skillet over medium high heat; when it is hot, add onion and cook until soft, about 10 minutes; set aside.

2. Meanwhile, combine all remaining ingredients except the salt, butter and cilantro in a saucepan. Add water to cover by about 1 inch, and bring to a boil. Adjust heat so mixture bubbles gently, and cook, stirring occasionally and adding water if necessary, until lentils are tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and more pepper and keep cooking to desired tenderness. Lentils should be saucy but not soupy.

3. Remove cloves from pan and add reserved sautéed onion. Stir in butter if you are using it. Taste and adjust seasoning, then garnish with cilantro and serve.

I also added 2 cups of baby spinach at the end when I microwaved the first serving of lentils.

Yield: 4 servings.