Red Dahl Spicy Coconut Curry

Curry! Dahl! This is one of my more spicy, yet most flavorful concoctions. This recipe takes a lot of TIME to make, so please don't try to cut out the soaking and setting aside time. There is no substitute for time in this recipe, and it is an essential ingredient. If you try and do this slapdash and fast, the flavors will just not be the same, and you will be sorely disappointed. A good flavorful curry is usually made the day before and allowed to sit, so if you're up for a day of cooking, and you like the payoff of a flavorful dish, this is a great recipe to add to your menu. The lentils and coconut milk make this dish extra creamy, perfect for pairing with naan or something bready. As always, feel free to adjust spices and ingredients to this recipe to your liking, except for the time needed of course. Most of all have fun. Sing to your dish, laugh out loud, do a little dance, and cough and laugh when the chile smell takes over your kitchen.



Makes a medium pot's worth

Ingredients:

Time, half a day should suffice.
Red lentils, 1 cup, washed and soaked in water for at least 3 hours
Brown lentils, 1 and 1/2 cup, washed and soaked in water for at least 3 hours
Shiitake mushroom broth, 2 cups. Dried shiitake soaked in 2 cups water for at least 3 hours. I suppose you could use vegetable broth as well, but I like to be able to control my salt intake.

Coconut chile milk, make ahead of time:
Coconut milk, 1 can
Fresh red chile peppers, washed with tops cut off. About 1 to 2 cups worth depending on your spicy preference

For curry stock:
Olive oil, liberal amount, about 7 to 10 tablespoons
Diced onion, 1 cups worth
Fresh diced ginger, 1/2 cups worth
3 cloves garlic, diced
Caraway seeds, 1 teaspoon
Coriander seeds, 1 teaspoon
Anis seeds, 1/2 teaspoon
Fresh mint, about 10 leaves or so

Curry spices:
Curry powder, 2 tablespoons
Red Masala powder, 1 tablespoon
Cinnamon, 3 teaspoons
Garam masala powder, 1/2 tablespoon
Cumin powder, 2 teaspoons
Black pepper, 2 teaspoons
White pepper, 1 teaspoon

Brown rock salt or similar, about 2 to 3 teaspoons
Unsalted butter, 2 tablespoons
Cauliflower, 1 head diced into bite size pieces
More extra diced fresh onion, 1/2 cup
Tofu, 1 cups worth, cubed

If you haven't soaked your lentils, do so now and you will be eating this curry in 3 hours or so, ha ha.

Shake the can of coconut milk before opening to get all of it out. Place the coconut milk and the red chiles in a medium pot. Be sure to scrape out all that coconut milk from the can too. Boil for a good 15 minuted on medium heat, stirring occasionally so nothing sticks to the bottom of the pan. Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for at least an hour.

Meanwhile, begin your curry stock. In a large pot, add the onion, ginger, garlic, caraway seeds, coriander seeds, and anis seeds. Turn on the heat to medium, and cook well until the onions are translucent and everything is quite fragrant, 10 to 15 minutes perhaps.

Turn the heat to low, and add the mint. Begin adding all the curry spices, being sure not to clump any spices to the bottom of the pan where they will burn quickly. Once all the spices have been added, mix well with a wooden spoon and continue to cook on low heat for about 5 to 10 minutes. Be sure to scrape the bottom of the pan constantly to prevent burning, but you also want the spices to cook in the oil for a good while. It should all start to smell amazing. Let this sit for 30 minutes or longer so the flavors have time to mesh well.

After some time, add the drained red lentils and the mushroom broth to the pot. Add a TINY bit of water if the broth is not enough to cook the lentils. Turn up the heat to medium and mix well. Cook the mixture over medium heat, stirring frequently until the lentils are soft. This should take about 10 to 15 minutes, but taste the lentils just to be sure. Turn off the heat and let the pot sit for 15 to 30 minutes until it cools off. Read a book or listen to your favorite album for a while.

Once everything has cooled, it's time to get to cooking again. Pour the coconut milk chile mixture into a blender. Blend until everything is nice and creamy and red from the peppers. Pour this all back into the same pot. Turn on the heat, and boil the mixture for about 7 to 10 minutes. Turn off heat and let sit while doing the next step.

Rinse out the blender with water just enough to get any remaining chile seeds out. Place the contents of the curry stock from the large pot into the blender. Blend until all is smooth and creamy too. Pour this back into the large pot.

Pour the coconut mixture through a strainer and into the large pot. Using a strainer ensures you don't get all those lovely hard seeds in your meal. Mix the lentil curry and coconut milk mixture well.

Add the drained brown lentils to the large pot. Mix well, and cook over medium heat until the lentils are soft, about 15 minutes. The mixture will be creamy, so be sure to mix frequently and watch over the pot so the lentils don't burn to the pan bottom. Taste a few lentils to make sure they are soft and cooked through.

Once the lentils are soft, add the rock salt and butter and mix in well.

Add the cauliflower, the extra diced onion, and the tofu, mix. Cook for about 5 minutes on medium heat, then 5 minutes on low heat, mixing occasionally.

Turn off the heat, cover the pot, and let sit for 15 to 20 minutes before serving.

If you did it right, this dish is spicy and ever so creamy, so serve yourself a small portion and eat it with many other side dishes. If you just eat a big bowl of this stuff, your asshole might pay dearly and it won't be as enjoyable. You can also let the curry sit for a day when everything has time to get acquainted, just be sure to refrigerate it after a few hours. I think curry always tastes better after a few good hour or day long sit. Hope you enjoy this dish!