“When I first moved to NYC, my discovery of cheap and hearty Indian food in the East Village was one of the things that made this city feel like home! Here, I’ve created a red lentil curry with all the classic warm Indian spices–and the sweet untraditional surprise of coconut milk! Feel free to grind your own spices or use some high quality preground spices. This dish gets better sitting in the fridge overnight. If it thickens up a bit too much for your taste, add a bit of broth of water.”

Serves 4

Lentil Mixture:

• 1 cup red lentils
• 2 cups water or low sodium vegetable broth (from Edward & Sons™ Natural Bouillon Cubes)
• 4 garlic cloves, chopped
• 1 inch fresh ginger, peeled and minced
• 1 jalapeno chile chopped, seeds and ribs removed

Onion, Spice, Tomato and Coconut Milk Mixture:

• 1 large onion, chopped
• 1 teaspoon cumin
• 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1/2 teaspoon ground yellow mustard
• 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon ground cinnamon
• 2 plum tomatoes, diced
• 1/2 cup coconut milk (Native Forest® Organic Coconut Milk)
• sea salt and fresh ground black pepper to taste
• chopped fresh cilantro

• Rinse red lentils, making sure to pick out any small stones or other debris. In a medium sauce pan, combine lentils, water/vegetable broth, garlic and ginger. Bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low, stir, cover and gently simmer for 40-50 minutes or until lentils are falling apart. Stir lentils again, mash with back of spoon and keep covered.
• While lentils are cooking, in a large nonstick skillet over medium heat, cook onions for 5 minutes or until translucent. Add all spices and continue to cook, stirring frequently for 2-3 minutes or until very fragrant. Add tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add coconut milk. Stir to combine. Remove from heat. Transfer onion, spice, tomato and coconut milk mixture to food processor and pulse until smooth.
• Pour onion, spice, tomato and coconut milk mixture into lentils. Stir to combine. Taste and season with salt and pepper. Transfer lentils to a serving bowl and garnish cilantro. Serve immediately with brown basmati rice.