Jamaican Lentil Stew With Coconut

"1 pot, 1 hour = simple, incredibly tasty vegetarian meal. Truly a delightful change from ordinary lentil stew or soup. Make sure you have a hunk of great bread to sop up the stew juices or you'll end up using your fingers! Add a salad for a complete meal."
 
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photo by averybird photo by averybird
photo by averybird
photo by rpgaymer photo by rpgaymer
photo by 979818 photo by 979818
photo by Moor Driver photo by Moor Driver
Ready In:
50mins
Ingredients:
13
Serves:
4
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ingredients

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directions

  • Make a thick paste by mashing ginger and garlic together using a pestle and mortar or a small bowl and the heel of a wooden spoon.
  • Heat vegetable oil over medium heat in a large saucepan, add the onion and saute until transparent.
  • Add the garlic ginger paste and saute another 2 minutes until fragrant; lower heat and stir constantly to avoid burning the paste.
  • Add the spices and saute for a minute more.
  • Stir in the coconut milk, stock, lentils, sweet potato and pumpkin puree.
  • Simmer over medium - low heat for 40 - 50 minutes or until sweet potato is soft and almost melting into the stew. Be sure to stir occasionaly.
  • Before serving, stir in the red curry paste if you are using it or adjust seasoning with black pepper.
  • NOTE: The stew has a creamy texture and is thick with lentils, sweet potato and pumpkin that melt into a delictable base. If you prefer a lighter soup then add more stock to thin the base, or try adding more cocount milk for a very savory and unique taste.

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Reviews

  1. Made this for the second time, 5 stars both time. It's such a versatile and easy recipe. Didn't have sweet potato this time so used 500g frozen mixed veggies, didn't have veggie stock this time so chicken stock (not concerned about vegetarian) and no red curry so threw in some chili powder, oh and didn't have fresh ginger so used powdered! So in other words I truly stretched the boundaries, and still it was great. Mopped with a batch and a half of recipe #16831, while Cyclone Tomas madly hurled himself at our windows. This is truly lovely, I could eat this once a week, it's so comforting and delicious. Love this recipe, really, really, really love it. EDITED TO ADD: Five days later and I'm making a triple batch to freeze in lunch sized portions. This is fabulous cold (it thickens up) eaten with celery spoons. Used lite coconut cream - tastes great!
     
  2. Ok, not great, not terrible. Crusty bread was a great idea. Tasted kinda potato-ish, sweet potato soup. We cubed the sweet potato, the directions were unclear. Here's some conversions for non-Americans and from-scratchers: 1inch ginger=1tbls, 4oz lentils = ~3/4cups (closer to 1/2cup), 1can pumpkin = ~2cups (one small pumpkin pressure cooked for 15minutes).
     
  3. Wow this is good! I've never had a vegetarian dish that was so filling before, and the flavor just gets better and better the longer it sits. The only change I made was doubling the amount of red curry paste, and it worked perfectly. Such a tasty stew with naan or a pita bread, I was I still had some more leftovers :)
     
  4. I've made this three times now- always with the curry paste and twice with light coconut milk, and every time it's turned out amazing. The last time I actually ended up making it only to find out that my "sweet potato" was the wrong kind of potato completely! So I made it even without that and it was STILL fantastic! Fabulous, awesome recipe, I'll be in my cookbook forever now! It's so creamy and the texture and taste are absolutely perfect :)
     
  5. I used Kabocha squash which was sweet and a perfect compliment to the stew. I served mine over rice and it was very good that way. Thanks, rsarahl. [Made for Zaar Alphabet Soup]
     
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Tweaks

  1. This is a fantastic soup! I used butternut squash instead of canned pumpkin because I had one handy, and chili powder instead of Thai curry paste. I love the Thai paste, but I was aiming for the Caribbean flavors. The lentils took longer than 20 minutes to cook to doneness, but the finished soup was excellent -- much like the one they serve at Mom's Organic Market.
     
  2. This was the hit of Thanksgiving dinner. Easy to make too. I had to send the recipe home with everyone. We made it without the Thai curry paste and substituted shallots for garlic. Yum! It was great cold or hot. Just writing about this soup makes me want some right now. Caution, it is filling.
     
  3. This is absolutely divine! Honestly, I could eat it every day! I used lite coconut milk and PAM instead of oil for the veggies and spices and it worked just fine. I was concerned the curry paste would be too hot for my kiddos, so I used curry powder instead. So delicious! I made it last night and I am going out today to get the ingredients to make it again today, so I can have it for lunch all week!
     

RECIPE SUBMITTED BY

I am a wife and mom of 2 vibrant little boys. They love to create and cook in the kitchen... I love their curiosity and willingness to try new foods and techniques as I introduce them. I love to cook... always have. Thanks to my father for this culinary passion! While I am addicted to collecting cookbooks, my dad taught me to experiment in the kitchen and gave me the gift of knowing that creative cooking doesn't have to come from a book.
 
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