I had a hankering for Indian food today. Don’t ask me why. It’s so weird. The only time I have ever had Indian food was at some hole-in-the-wall buffet in Charleston and I absolutely hated it. Maybe I just ordered the wrong thing. Anyways, for some reason I was wanting to give it another college try today but didn’t have time or money to find a restaurant in my area. So….what to do in situations like this…..try to make your own! Now, for you Indian food connoisseurs out there, I’m sure my take on Indian food really isn’t Indian food at all. I need to broaden my horizons past dry curry powder. It worked for tonight though. Here’s what I came up with:
Simple Red Lentil Curry
Serves 1
1/4 cup dry red lentils
1 cup water (or veggie broth)
about 2 tbsp diced yellow onion
1 clove garlic, minced
1/2 tsp curry powder
dash of salt
1/4 tsp tumeric
1. Combine everything in a small saucepan. Boil then reduce heat and simmer. Cover and let simmer for about 15 minutes til’ the lentils are soft and mushy. Serve.
What did I say? Easy!!!
I served my “curry” (now I really need to get out there in the world and go to an Indian restaurant to try the real stuff) over couscous and I also had some roasted brussels sprouts on the side. I was going to make brown rice instead of couscous because I think that’s more traditional but was using my only small saucepan to make the lentils! Couscous is always a good substitution in my book though…
Keep in mind that no matter what you do, red lentils really don’t seem to photograph that well. I tried to make it look pretty but I promise (!!) it tastes MUCH better than it looks. A nice light, yet comforting dinner.
I did a quick cardio workout on the elliptical machine today before getting some sun by the pool with the roommate this afternoon. I made one of the best snacks known to man: a toasted waffle (I used FlaxPlus) smeared with a little pb and some raspberry jam. Divine.
As I said before, I’m not too excited about school tonight because we are making savory croissants. Oh well…it’s all part of the whole package I guess! I’m bringing a Think Organic Chocolate Coconut Bar with me for a snack later on…..
ash
March 19, 2008 at 9:39 pmhey jenna looks well honestly like goo -but a tasty goo lol iv never had couscous before is it like rice?
thanks ash
jenna
March 19, 2008 at 9:42 pmAsh,
red lentils= not so pretty…I PROMISE THE TASTE MAKES UP FOR THEIR CAT VOMIT LIKE APPEARANCE!!!!! haha! Just a comforting, easy meal. Couscous is wonderful. Its very light and fluffy and cooks in 5 minutes. You should def. get on that. I couldn’t live without couscous.
Emma
March 19, 2008 at 9:47 pmyou need to go out for more indian food…because if you say you don’t like it, you obviously haven’t tried the good stuff! indian food is amazingggggggggggg. try ordering naan, samosas, chicken tikka masala, aloo gobi, etc…and then get back to me !! : ) it’s one of my fav cousines in the whole wide world
Romina
March 19, 2008 at 9:58 pmGotta love curry!! Have you tried the red lentil cauliflower curry from Veganomicon? It’s fantastic!
Meghan
March 19, 2008 at 10:09 pmYum yum yum, I love indian food! I hated it too, when I tried it for the first time, but last summer suddenly I couldn’t stop thinking about it so I begged my mom to take me to this little indian place near my house. Man oh man am I happy that I tried it again, I now LOVE indian food. Unfortunately, I don’t get to eat it very often, but all that will change once I sell my old text books and find a good place near my college!
ash
March 19, 2008 at 10:12 pmcool i’ll def be trying couscous soon then
ash
BethT
March 19, 2008 at 10:29 pmTry experimenting with curry paste instead of powder. Totally different flavor and texture.
Victoria
March 19, 2008 at 10:35 pmI totally agree regarding the cauliflower red lentil curry in Veganomicon. Fantastic!
VeggieGirl
March 19, 2008 at 10:43 pmI don’t have that much experience with Indian food, but the curry looks/sounds delicious!! And your post-workout snack IS divine – gotta love PBJ on waffles :0)
Try to have fun in class tonight!!
erica
March 19, 2008 at 11:10 pmYum, that curry must be delicious! Best of all is it’s so incredibly easy! You know I’m going to have to try it soon; I love when you post your own simple and delicious recipes. 🙂
Btw, in case you don’t check your lunch post from today, I buy wildwood soyogurt, and I love it! Def. give it a try!
Dinah Soar
March 19, 2008 at 11:45 pmI had the same reaction the first time I ate Indian food—thought it was terrible. But a month or so later I was craving it…today it is one of my favorite cuisines…love it so much I learned, from a friend who is a native of India, how to cook authentic Indian food….the appearance of Indian food is not that great, but the flavors are delicious…I fine people tend to hate it or love it.
A good instructional website is: http://www.showmethecurry.com/
They have instructional videos….
Laurie
March 20, 2008 at 12:05 amJenna-
How much couscous do you prepare at a time and if only one serving, how much and how much water? And for 5 minutes? I always try to make one serving but I must be doing something wrong because it is always dry. Thanks!
Lori- the pleasantly plump vegan
March 20, 2008 at 12:41 amsome good Indian places in Tampa are Taj (kinda fancy/pricey, near USF) and Shalimar (less fancy, a bit cheaper, in downtown).
Lindsay
March 20, 2008 at 12:54 amYay – so happy you have your camera back… those brussels sprouts look so good!
Nadia
March 20, 2008 at 1:24 amas someone whose had indian food a million times…actually sick of it now lol…i can honestly tell you that it looks like a very traditional ‘daal’ dish. Daal is basically lentils with spices and if you were to order it at an indian restaurant that is what it would look like…I think the pic looks delish. If you want to add a bit more traditional indian spice to it try to find “garam masala”. Whole Foods and Trader Joes carries it and it really gives indian food that extra kick. Glad your first attempt at making it ended up being yummy 🙂
Brynn
March 20, 2008 at 2:14 amJenna, do you think your banana-walnut waffle recipe would work as pancakes? Like I said on that page, they look so delicious but I don’t have a waffle iron.
jenna
March 20, 2008 at 3:36 amLaurie,
i prepare 1/4 cup dry with 1/4 cup water. Here’s what I do: in a measuring cup I measure out 1/4 cup water…zap it in the micro for 30 seconds so its boiling. Dump the couscous in. Put plastic wrap on top. Wait 5-10 minutes. Fluff with a fork and eat! EASY! That’s how they taught me in school to do it so that’s what I do everytime and it always comes out perfect.
Brynn,
I think you could…you just might want to add a bit more liquid to the batter because it is quite thick. I was thinking about trying that myself! It should work well though. Let me know!
LolaFunk
March 20, 2008 at 5:12 amYum, Indian food!
And I loooove waffles with jam.
🙂
Z
March 20, 2008 at 6:32 pmCravings! Me too, for teriyaki salmon & whole wheat pitas & red pepper hummus… strange but true!