New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry

The seasons are definitely changing and with the longer nights, shorter light hours and cooler weather, comes a shift in eating habits. While I still do enjoy a colourful vegetable packed quinoa salad or a crunchy kale salad, the evenings have me craving warming bowls of stews or curries. Both are a great way to pack in lots of vegetables in promises of a hearty and comforting dish. They’re also great for persuading non-vegans of the joys, richness and vibrancy of plant-based foods – it’s not all cold salads and hummus.

New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry

Eating seasonally is the best way to enjoy what nature has to offer and many food writers and bloggers share the importance of eating with the seasons. It’s a good way to allow your body to adapt to the changing climate and nourish your being with what it really needs. That said, I’m a true advocate of listening to your body – so if your body wants hummus, then hummus it shall be. Especially when it’s my Smoked Red Pepper and Walnut Hummus…

But when my body says ‘warm me up from the inside’ this is my new go-to dinner. It comes together in about 30 minutes, so is a perfect mid-week meal after a long day at work or a simple dinner to offer guests. It packs a lot of flavour thanks to the ginger, garlic and curry powder while the coconut milk adds a creamy coolness to the heat balanced out with a zappy squeeze of lime juice. Packed with vegetables, lentils and potatoes, my New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry is a real powerhouse of a bowl, served over brown rice and a sprinkling of toasted cashews… this bowl will you have glowing in no time at all.

You’ll notice that I’ve used coconut milk powder which I am really loving as it lets you control the creaminess of the coconut milk in any given dish i.e. less powder for a drinking coconut milk and more for a thick coconut cream. I’ve kept it not too rich here, but feel free to substitute the coconut milk powder and stock for a 400ml tin of full-fat coconut milk with a crumbling of stock or bouillon powder for savouriness.

I hope you like this New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry as much as I do. It certainly rivals any take-out I’ve had!

New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry

• Servings: 2
• Time: 30
• Difficulty: easy
• Print

The perfect mid-week curry packed full of flavour with creamy lentils, new potatoes and spinach.

Ingredients

• Olive oil
• ½ white onion, small dice
• 2 fat garlic cloves, crushed
• 1-inch piece ginger, grated
• 2 tsp curry powder
• 1 large carrot, thinly sliced
• 150g new potatoes, in ½
• 50g red lentils
• 25g coconut milk powder*
• 400ml stock*
• 160g frozen green beans (fresh will work too)
• 2 large handfuls spinach
• 2 tbsp lime juice
• Black pepper
• 1 spring onion, chopped
• 40g cashew nuts
• Fresh coriander, chopped
• To serve: brown rice, flatbreads, coconut yoghurt

Directions

1. Heat a drizzle of olive oil in a medium saucepan and fry the onion for 5-7 minutes until softening. Add the garlic, ginger and curry powder and cook for 1 minute until smelling fragrant.
2. Add the carrots, new potatoes and red lentils and stir to coat them in the spices.
3. Pour in the coconut milk powder and stock and stir, adding in some black pepper. Put a lid on and bring to the boil before reducing the heat to simmer for about 25 minutes (about the same time as it takes to cook brown rice).
4. Throw in the green beans 5 minutes before the end of cooking time and stir.
5. Meanwhile, heat a large non-stick fry frying pan and add the cashews, toasting them until golden. Make sure to shake the pan so they don’t burn. Remove from the heat.
6. Now add in the spinach and lime juice before tasting and adjusting the seasoning.
7. Serve over brown rice with any desired extras, sprinkled with the toasted cashews and spring onion slices. Leftover curry will keep in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 3 days or will freeze well.

New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry

Curries and stews always taste better the next day, so make extra to enjoy for lunch or dinner over the coming days. The flavours become more intense and you’ll thank yourself for it. If you make my New Potato, Red Lentil and Coconut Curry, I would love to see. Please tag me in your creations – I’m @nourishing.amy on Instagram and use the hashtag #nourishingamy.

With curry love x