Andrea Banerje

I’m a fairly lazy cook, so I tend to steer clear of meals that have more than a small handful of ingredients. It just feels too intimidating for a work night dinner, and I consider myself a pretty inexperienced chef – so I’m always worried I’ll mess up a more complicated recipe.

That said, there are some recipes that are meant to be made from scratch – and curry is one of them. This recipe is one that I played around with and find truly relaxing (if a little messy) to make. Both the rice and the curry need about 20 minutes to simmer, so this recipe has built-in clean-up time!

Now, about the taste… This is my favourite meal that I’ve made in a long time. It’s absolutely delicious and my boyfriend and I enjoyed it for both dinner and packed lunches!

This is a great Sunday evening dish, or if you have a free hour on a weeknight, I promise this fragrant, flavourful recipe will relax you! Pour a glass of wine, put on some music and enjoy 🙂

Ingredients

Note: Cashews can be omitted to make this recipe nut allergy friendly.

• 1 tbsp oil
• 1 cup full fat coconut milk
• 1/4 cup whole raw cashews, soaked*
• 3 cloves minced garlic
• 1/3 cup green pepper, diced
• 1/3 cup yellow onion, diced
• 1 medium sweet potato, diced
• 1/3 cup diced cooked carrot
• 1 can lentils
• 1 tbsp fresh finely grated ginger
• 1/4 tsp cinnamon
• 1 tbsp powdered yellow curry
• 1/2 tsp cumin
• 2 tsp turmeric
• 1 1/4 cup uncooked basmati rice
• 2 cups water
• green onion or crushed cashews to top the dish (optional)

*Soak for about 4-6 hours to soften cashews. If you’re in a hurry, simply cover the cashews in boiling water and let stand for about 15 minutes.

Directions

1. Bring a small pot of water to a boil. Simmer carrots and sweet potato for 10 minutes to soften.
2.  Heat oil over medium heat in a large pan. Add yellow onion, green peppers, garlic, ginger, curry powder, turmeric and cumin. Leave on medium heat for about 4 minutes so that the onions and peppers begin to soften and the spices heat together.
3. Lower heat to simmer and pour coconut milk and cashews into pan. Add cinnamon and stir slowly over low heat for about 2-3 minutes.
4. Add sweet potatoes, carrots and lentils to the mixture. Let the curry simmer on low heat for 20 minutes. Stir occasionally as you prep your rice and tidy up.
5. Pour 1 cup of dry basmati rice into a bowl of warm water. Let stand for 5 minutes. The water should become cloudy and starchy! Massage the rice with your hands if you like 🙂 Drain.
6. In a separate pot, bring 2 cups of water to a rolling boil. Add basmati rice and stir for 2 minutes. Lower to simmer and cover. Leave for about 15-20 minutes, or until forked rice is fluffy and has absorbed all of the water.
7. Serve rice into bowls and pour the hot curry over it. Top with crushed cashews or diced green onion (or both!)

Enjoy!