Cozy lentils cooked to perfection with flavors of ginger, garlic, and curry, served over rice. Easy, nutritious, and filling for when you want a comforting meal.

Something about August sits different. It’s still summer, yet somehow, inexplicably, you can feel that maybe before you’re ready, fall will be here. School starting, shorter evenings, cooler weather. Curries are one of my favorite cozy weather dishes. They’re easy to make and there are so many! While I love summer and all the summer no-cook or grilled dishes that go along with the season, I do start to miss cooking and hearty dishes. Those hot days where it’s too hot to turn on the oven are hard on me! Michigan summers are mild compared to Florentine summers, but I was still excited that this week held some cooler days that felt perfect for this lentil curry with rice.

I first started making this curry in Florence, I think it was during 2020 and have been making it regularly ever since. I love to add spinach to get in some vegetables, and I would often make it in a crockpot while also adding rice and more water straight to the crockpot; curried lentils and rice all cooked up together!

A note about ground coriander

McCormick Gourmet Organic Ground Coriander, 1.25 Oz

While most of the ingredients in this recipe would be considered pantry staples, the biggest exception for me would be ground coriander. (Coconut milk might not be a staple for everyone, but if you make Asian dishes frequently it is!!) Now, a little pet peeve of mine is recipes that sound wonderful but call for one or more obscure ingredients that are “essential”, but also ones you’ll never use again. You know what I’m talking about, right? Well, normally I would be tempted to skip or find a substitute for ground coriander since that has never been a spice I’ve really used. The first time I made this recipe I somehow had coriander seeds in a spice grinder. It was a labor of love to hand grind 1 1/2 tsps, but I was surprised at how good it was! It’s not that you can taste the coriander itself, but the one time I didn’t have enough I could actually tell and missed the depth of flavor it lended. Bottom line, you can make this curry without it, but if you plan on making this again I would get yourself a bottle of ground coriander!

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Recipe adapted from Janet’s Munch Meals

Cozy Lentil Curry

Serves 4-6

Ingredients:

1 Tbsp oil
1 onion or shallot, diced small
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
1 Tbsp curry powder
1 Tbsp cumin
2 tsp chili powder or paprika
1 1/2 tsp ground coriander
1 cup / 210g dry lentils
1 (15 oz) can diced or crushed tomatoes
1 (14 oz) can coconut milk
2 cups / 474g vegetable broth or water
salt and pepper to taste
Several handfuls of spinach, 100-200g spinach, finely chopped, optional
Rice, cilantro, red pepper flakes, sesame seeds, for serving, optional

Directions:

Heat oil in a large pot over medium heat. Add onion and cook for several minutes, until translucent.
Add garlic, ginger, curry, cumin, chili powder, and coriander and cook for about 3 minutes, until toasted and fragrant.
Add lentils, tomatoes, coconut milk, broth, salt and pepper, and bring to a boil.
Lower heat, cover, and allow to simmer for 25-30 minutes or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally. Add more liquid at any point, if necessary.
Stir in spinach and cook for another minute or two.
Serve over rice with cilantro and red pepper flakes, as desired.

Jenny’s Notes:

This lentil curry can also be made in a crockpot: Place all ingredients in crockpot and stir. Cook on high for 4 hours or low for 8 hours, or until lentils are tender, stirring occasionally and adding any extra liquid as necessary.