Lentils and Potatoes with Curry

We're raiding our pantries this week over at I Heart Cooking Clubs. The idea is to pick one or more items from our pantry and whip up a fabulous Mark Bittman recipe. My pantry usually has all the typical staples, but then there are those specialty items that I pick up here or there and never use because I am "saving them for a special recipe". I tend to hang onto these specialty items because I don't live in a big city and it is hard to come by some of these things in my small town grocer. Let's face it, as much as I would like it to be, small town Kentucky is not a food mecca!


In the spirit of cleaning out my pantry, I took out the coconut milk I had been saving, that half bag of lentils, and two russet potatoes. I had the perfect recipe in mind.


Lentils and Potatoes with Curry
Adapted from How to Cook Everything Vegetarian by Mark Bittman
Time: About 1 Hour
Serves: 4 - 6
1 cup dried brown lentils, washed and picked over (I used green)
3-1/2 cups water, coconut milk (one can + water), or vegetable stock
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 medium russet potatoes
salt and freshly ground black pepper
Yogurt for garnish
Minced fresh cilantro leaves for garnish
Combine the lentils, liquid, and curry powder in a medium saucepan and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Turn the heat down to medium-low so that the mixture bubbles gently, cover partially, and cook, stirring occasionally, until the lentils start to absorb the water a bit, about 15 minutes.
Add the potatoes and cover the pan completely. Cook, undisturbed, for 10 minutes or so, then stir gently and check to make sure the lentils aren't too dry. If so, add a little more liquid. Add salt as the lentils become tender.
Cover and continue cooking until the lentils are soft and beginning to turn to mush and the potatoes are tender at the center, another 5 to 10 minutes; add liquid if necessary. The mixture should be moist but not soupy. Add lots of black pepper, stir, then taste and adjust the seasoning and serve, garnished with yogurt and cilantro.

Notes/Results: I loved it! The lentils get really soft, making this really smooth and creamy. With the soft lentils and chunks of potatoes, this was both comforting and satisfying. An absolutely delicious vegetarian meal! Packed with flavor, it is a recipe that I will definitely be making again. Also, this was my first time using coconut milk and while I loved it, I will be sure to buy the light coconut milk next time. I didn't realize how high in calories the regular coconut milk was until I got out the can and looked at the label. Yikes!

We had a fabulous turn out for our first week with Mark Bittman. Click HERE for links to the 17 recipes that we cooked up last week! Thanks to everyone who participated!

Wanna see who else is raiding their pantry? Head on over to I Heart Cooking Clubs this week to see what everyone else cooks up!