Pumpkin Lentil Curry With Coconut Milk, Spinach and Tomatoes

 

 

I love all kinds of curry: Indian, Thai, Pacific Island, Caribbean. Just give me a bib and a spoon.

I knew I wanted to make a curry using pumpkin. It is autumn, after all. And I wanted lentils, coconut milk and spinach. It had to use the Indian curry trio of ginger, garlic and turmeric. I didn’t find a recipe, so I went to work.

In retrospect, red lentils would have preserved the gorgeous pumpkin color of the sauce, while the green French puy lentils I used muddied the hue. But it tasted great, though the pumpkin flavor is subtle. There is no spicy heat. If you want some, use regular chili powder or add minced hot peppers with the garlic and ginger.

I served it with black rice, which is a beautiful dark purple when cooked and contains a high level of the antioxidant anthocyanin (think blueberries).

For an interesting article on slate.com about the development of curry in ancient civilizations, click here. It contains such gems as vindaloo being a Portuguese contribution and scientists believing that curry was on the menu as long as 4,500 years ago.

 

Pumpkin Lentil Curry With Coconut Milk, Spinach and Tomatoes

 

2 cups dried lentils

2 tbsp. vegetable or coconut oil

1 medium to large sweet onion, roughly chopped

4 large cloves garlic, chopped

1 to 2 tbsp. fresh minced ginger

1 tbsp. ground cumin

1 1/2 tsp. ground turmeric

1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika

1 tsp. ground cardamom

4 tsp. Santa Cruz ground mild chili (or a lesser amount of ground chili powder)

2 tbsp. brown sugar

1 can (13.5-oz or 400 ml) coconut milk, regular or light

1 cup pumpkin puree

1 (14.5-oz.) can diced tomatoes, undrained

1 cup chopped fresh tomatoes

1 tsp. lime juice

3 to 4 oz. fresh baby spinach leaves

1 tbsp. kosher salt

Toasted coconut, for garnish (optional)

See lentil package for needed water amount and bring water to boil in a pot. Remove any foreign matter from lentils and rinse. Add to water and reduce to a simmer once it returns to a boil. Cook , covered, until tender, 30 to 45 minutes.

(Cook rice or other grain at the same time.)

Heat oil over medium heat in a large saute pan, pot or Dutch oven. Slowly cook onion till soft and golden, about 15 minutes.

Stir in garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute. Add 1 tbsp. ground cumin, 1 1/2 tsp. turmeric, 1 1/2 tsp. smoked paprika, cardamom and chili powder and cook, stirring, 1 minute. Open coconut milk and scoop the top layer of thicker milk into the pan. Stir into the spices and onions and cook another minute.

Stir in pumpkin and brown sugar. Add rest of coconut milk a little at a time. Add tomatoes and lime juice. Simmer till lentils are done.

Add cooked lentils to sauce. Simmer 10 more minutes, seasoning with salt by pinches to taste.

Serve with grain of choice, garnishing with toasted coconut if desired.

 

Serves 6 to 8.