Curried Lentils with Eggplant and Mushrooms Serves 6
Ingredients
- 1 cup lentils
- 4 cup broth or water
- 1 Tbsp olive oil
- 1 clove garlic, minced
- 1 Tbsp grated fresh ginger
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1/2 red bell pepper, diced
- 2 cup diced eggplant
- 2 cup quartered mushrooms
- 1 teas. curry powder
- 1/4 teas. ground cinnamon
- 1/4 teas. ground turmeric
- 1 teas. lemon zest
- Salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
Simmer lentils in broth or water until barely tender (approx. 30 minutes). Remove from heat and let sit in liquid until needed. Heat the oil in a skillet over medium heat. Add garlic, ginger, onion and red pepper and saute until tender, about 6-8 minutes. Add eggplant, mushrooms, curry, cinnamon, turmeric and lemon zest. Cook about 5 minutes, until mushrooms release some moisture. Drain lentils, reserving about 1 cup of the cooking liquid and add them to the skillet. Add enough of the cooking liquid to moisten well. Cover skillet and cook over low heat until eggplant is very tender, about 30 minutes. Season with salt and pepper and serve. Note: spices may be increased to taste. This can also be used to stuff hollowed out squash and zucchini and baked until squash is tender and served with a tomato sauce.