curry lentil stew recipe.

hello friends! i hope everyone had a nice valentines day!

i know its kind of expected that id be talking about valentines day today,  because it was yesterday and thats all anyones been talking about all week, but... actually... I'm going to talk about soup. or, i guess, more accurately stew. (don't worry ill talk more about valentines day on monday). 

actually this is a recipe that I've been wanting to write about for a very long time, its basically never left our normal dinner rotation in the 3+ years we've been married, but never got around to it.

since its about negative a million degrees out everywhere in america (ok, its in like, the sixties here but thats about where i put on a will coat and scarf and refuse to go outside) i feel like now would be the appropriate time to share it. 

so whats so great about this lentil stew? well first of all, its delicious. second, its easy, just throw it on some rice and you've got a complete meal with only two pots to wash. and most importantly, its cheap. and i mean really, really cheap. as in, for about $5 you have enough lentil stew to last for centuries (or at least, one batch usually feeds us between 6 and 8 dinners). oh, and also, it freezes and reheats wonderfully, i almost always have a few jars of this in the freezer for nights i won't be home to cook, and i HATE freezer meals/leftovers. 

note: the curry powder can be pretty pricey at the "normal" grocery store (like $4-$5 for a small bottle), and you're going to be using a lot of it, so i recommend either buying the curry powder at trader joes (where its $1.99) or finding an indian market where you can buy it in bulk (a couple years ago we got a HALF POUND bag of it for about $3.50). 

my recipe is actually a slightly modified version of the "lentils and potatoes with curry" recipe in how to cook everything vegetarian, but I've added some extra veggies, and instead of eating it by itself as a soup like the book suggests, we (usually) eat it with rice:

curry lentil stew. 

(serves 8+ as a soup, even more when served with rice)

heres what you need:

1 pound of dried lentils

7-8 cups vegetable stock

2 tablespoons curry powder 

4 medium russet potatoes (or two of those insanely huge baking potatoes)

3-4 carrots

3-4 ribs of celery

salt and black pepper to taste

start by combining the lentils, stock and curry powder in a large pot and bring to a boil. once its boiling, reduce heat to medium-low and cook the lentils (which should be bubbling gently, NOT a rolling boil) for about 15 minutes. 

while you're waiting for that peel and chop your potatoes, carrots, and celery, after the 15 minutes is up add all your veggies, stir, and cook completely covered and undisturbed for about ten more minutes. 

next, check your lentils to make sure theres still enough liquid (and adding more if necessary), and (if needed) add salt and black pepper to taste. 

cover and continue to cook for about 5-10 more minutes until the veggies are cooked through. 

serve over rice. 

feel free to cut this recipe in half if you're not into cooking industrial portions (i come from a big family so "cooking for two" is NOT one of my strong suits), and please, please, PLEASE let me know if you give it a try!