A great dish for any time of year, filling and warm not to mention hearty and a great way to introduce someone to curry in a low heat form.
Minutes to Prepare: 360
Minutes to Cook: 45
Number of Servings: 4
Serving Size: soup bowl = 12oz
Ingredients
Red Lentils, 1 cup
Reduced Sodium Vegetable Broth, 1.5 cup
Becel (2 tsp), 2 servings or 1 tbsp
Red Onion, raw, 1 medium (2-1/2″ dia)
Garlic, 3 cloves
Ginger, ground, 1.5 tsp
Curry powder, 2 tbsp
Pepper, black, .25 tsp
Butternut Squash, 1.5 cup, cubes
Soy Milk (Dairy Alternative), 12 oz
Green Onion, chopped , 1
Tips
Depending on how the lentils are dun it can take 4 to 6 hours to do them up (soaking time) before they are ready to cook. So speed this process up you can bring the water to a boil add the lentils and let bowl for about 2 minutes then remove from heat and let cool/stand for about an hour then continue on with the recipe.
This dish goes well as a stand alone or as a side and can be served with papadum, basmati rice, or even naan.
This can actually make upwards of 6 to 8 servings if you are using it as a side dish instead of a main.
Directions
Before cooking the squash you will need to first peel the skin from it and dice it up into cubes the smaller the fast it will cook (will been a hard cutting surface and strong/sharp knife and a peeler).
Cook Lentils to the directions on the package or as your normally world. Then rinse well and drain; stir into broth and set aside.
In a large and deep saucepan (one that will hold upwards of 6 cups of liquid) you will need to do the following…
Melt the butter and then sauté onion until starting to soften (do not brown/burn).
When thats completed add in the garlic, ginger, curry (to taste), and the black pepper, sauté them together until softened (remembering not to burn any of them).
Once everything is softened take the lentils in their broth along with the diced squash and dairy alternative and combine them together in the large saucepan.
Over medium to high heat bring to a simmer, remembering to stirring often (depends on if you are using electric or gas to what works best for your method, I use high heat on an electric flat top stove).
Once things are simmering cover remembering to leave the lid ajar.
Now reduce the heat and let simmer on its own for about 25 minutes, remembering to stir everything occasionally until the squash and lentils are soft and tender.
Now remove from heat and lightly marsh everything together with a large hole potato masher, do NOT whip it just a light mashing to help blend everything together.
When dun, let stand for a few minutes (this is a good time to get what it will be served with together, side warm bread, etc)
When getting ready to serve sprinkle with the green onions over top of dish and serve.