Slow Cooker Red Lentil Coconut Curry
This red lentil coconut curry recipe was shared with us by our friends at the Zen of Slow Cooking. Although it’s originally intended for the slow cooker, you can also make this curry in a pressure cooker or on the stovetop. It’s delicious, vegan and budget-friendly no matter how you make it!
The original recipe calls for Zen’s Indial Dal spice blend. We’ve adapted the recipe below to use a mixture of pantry ingredients you may already have on hand. Serve over rice, with naan bread on the side if you like.
Ingredients
Serves 4-6
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 1/2 cups (1 medium) onion, small dice
- 2 tsp (4 cloves) garlic, minced
- 1 tablespoon turmeric
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp coriander
- 1 tsp dry mustard
- 1 tsp ground ginger
- 1/2 tsp ground cardamom
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp salt
- 2 tablespoons tomato paste
- 1 cup red lentils, washed and picked over
- 2 cups vegetable broth (reduce to 1 1/2 cups for slow cook recipe)
- 1 can coconut milk
Instructions
Slow Cooker:
- Heat oil in a skillet on medium; sauté onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Transfer onion mixture to cooker.
- Sprinkle in the spice blend, salt, tomato paste, red lentils, broth & coconut milk.
- Stir, cover and cook on LOW: 6 hours or HIGH: 2 1/2-3 hours.
Pressure Cooker:
- Heat oil on sauté function; soften onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Stir in spice blend, salt, tomato paste, red lentils, broth & coconut milk.
- Secure cooker lid and set pressure valve to Sealing.
- Cook on Manual/Pressure for 5 minutes.
- Vent with Quick Pressure Release.
Stovetop/Dutch Oven:
- Heat oil in the Dutch Oven on medium; soften onion and garlic for 2 minutes.
- Sprinkle in the spice blend; add salt, tomato paste, red lentils, broth & coconut milk.
- Stir, cover and bubble gently on low-medium heat for 20 minutes.