VEGAN Lentil Curry Bowl With Cashew Sauce

This is probably my favourite recipe on my blog. I've probably said that on another recipe before, but this one takes supersedes all of those recipe and takes home the Stanley Cup of food. You know how I know this? My boyfriend scoffs at the idea of eating vegetarian, but the idea of vegan? He laughs. He LOVED this recipe, and no animals were harmed. I've been trying to do this thing, where once a week we eat a vegetarian or vegan meal. Its part of my attempt at being a good samaritan... HA. This is a vegan meal that will be repeated in our house many times. Its slightly time consuming and is done in three different steps, but I promise, it is so worth it! 

                         Feeds 4                    

Roasted Carrots:

  • 8 carrots, peeled and chopped into large chunks
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp chilli powder
  • salt to taste

Cilantro Cashew Sauce:

  • 1/2 C fresh cilantro
  • 3/4 C salted or unsalted cashews
  • 1/2 C cold water
  • 1/4 tsp salt
  • 2 limes, juiced
  • 1 clove garlic
  • 2 tsp honey

Lentil Curry:

  • 1 C basmati rice
  • 1 tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 C diced onion
  • 2 cloves minced garlic
  • 2 tbsp red thai curry paste
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1/2 tsp cumin
  • 1 C brown lentils, rinsed
  • 14 oz tomato puree (I couldn't find puree, so I used crushed tomato)
  • 2 C vegetable broth
  • pinch of salt
  • avocado for topping

1. Puree all the sauce ingredients, taste and adjust as you wish. Set aside.

2. Preheat oven to 450 celsius. Toss the carrots in all the other ingredients and arrange on a baking pan. Bake for 20 minutes until nice and brown and soft.

3. Make the basmati rice.

4. To make the curry, heat oil over medium heat and sauté the onion and garlic until fragrant and soft. Add the red thai curry paste and spices and sauté for another 2 minutes.

5. Add the lentils, tomato sauce and broth. Simmer until most of the heat has evaporated, then add 1/2 C water until its almost absorbed again. Keep repeating this for 45 minutes, or until the lentils are soft. The original recipe said that it should be ready after 45 minutes, but it took me well over an hour until they were ready to eat. I ended up adding 3 or 4 full cups over that time period, and the lentils soaked it right up. Keep an eye out after the 45 minute mark, and keep checking back every 10 minutes or so.

4. Assemble your curry bowls. Take a large scoop of rice, add the curry, top with cashew sauce and extra cilantro, if desired. Add a helping of carrots to the dish, and enjoy!

 

Recipe adapted from pinchofyum.com