Indian Luncheon: Vij's Chicken Curry and Red Lentil Curry

It's been a week since I last posted, and with good reason.  Last Wednesday, we said goodbye to our oldest son, who was leaving for a two year adventure out in the wilds of San Jose.  Hopefully he will come back wiser, and not just older.  The rest of the week was spent cleaning up after the chaos that we called packing.  Meals were basic--leftovers were involved on two different days.  Some of the leftovers were from our son's last home cooked meal, which I will post about later.  Today, though, I thought I'd share with you a couple of recipes from the world-famous Indian restaurant, Vij's, up in Vancouver, B.C.

The Test Kitchen: Coconut Lentil Soup Recipe

Lentils have two advantages for the home cook.  First, they are super inexpensive for a recipe ingredient that is both filling (the fiber) and power packed with nutrients (add rice to the mix, and you have a complete protein for a fraction of the cost of meat).  Second, they cook up really fast. These two factors mean that lentils frequently make an appearance in dishes that are both quick and easy.  (College students and families on limited incomes, take note!)  Of course, that's not always the case.  Some lentil dishes require horrific amounts of chopping.  Some require you to cook the lentils separately along with three other pots of this or that, all to be poured over a fifth thing at some point.  And then there are the lentil dishes that call for expensive and obscure ingredients.

Heidi Swanson's recipe for Coconut Red Lentil Soup is both quick and relatively inexpensive.  It is packed with flavor, but it is not so hot that your average family member will balk.  I made a few adjustments to the recipe for our family to use, but you can certainly follow the link to the original recipe.  One change I made was to use regular brown lentils rather than the red ones called for.  The red ones are pretty (as in the photo above), but they are also harder to obtain in small college towns out in the middle of nowhere--as well as being slightly more expensive.  And frankly, there will be very little change in the flavor of the dish.  Second, I left out the raisins.  Most of my family members hate raisins with the heat of a thousand suns.  I kid you not.  My husband refers to them by a rude term that is NOT appropriate at the dinner table.  And third, rather than using the Madras Curry Powder that Heidi suggested, I used a Garam Masala curry blend.