Tomato-Curry Lentil Stew

Okay, I have varied this recipe several times, and all of them came out super. First, I always omit celery and substitute bell pepper. I use veg or chicken stock instead of water, and use fresh tomatoes. My favorite variation is to add a little half and half at the very last minute(do not let it fully cook), just enough to make a thick, creamy soup. I have made this for friends and family, and is a hit every time. Thanks.

Made this today- with a lot of changes- and it's fantastic. I guess it's almost a different recipe, but I felt I should leave my changes here in case anyone wants to try what I did. I omitted the celery and added a chopped carrot and a chopped yukon gold potato. Then I added a half of a cup of vegetable broth, 1/3 cup brown rice, and quadrupled the curry powder (no one ever uses enough! a full tsp is perfect). It is excellent over homemade wheat bread!

This is the only main dish I've gotten from this site that has actually worked out to be worth the effort. Maybe next time I'll try it with fresh tomatoes. The similarity to my mom's potroast stew (before I became a vegetarian) makes me think that potatoes and/or carrots would make a tasty addition. My dad put his stew over brown rice, but I didn't like the idea-- I think it is better over a piece of whole wheat bread or toast.

Great foundations for a lentil stew. I made a few changes/additions based on other reviews and my personal taste and this turned out great. My flatmates all loved it too and asked me for the recipe. But I agree that lentil lovers will like this best, like myself. I cooked the lentils in chicken stock, along with chickpeas and sweet potato. I then also used red curry paste with coconut milk and 2 tablespoons of sour cream to get a really creamy stew.

This was yum yum yummy! I tripled this recipe and then put in a little less garlic. (more like 6-7 cloves). Also, I added 1/2 cup coconut milk, a dollop or two of sour cream, and 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper for extra zing. My man loved it and we had enough for lunches the next day.

This is a retaurant-quality soup. I have made this in very large quantities three or for times in the past two months.

We loved this recipe. I did make a few changes: added carrots, potatoes and cayenne pepper. Also, instead of water, I used chicken broth and upped the amount. I didn't have stewed tomoatoes so I used 1 can crushed and 1 can diced because I had them on hand. I upped the curry and the garlic and onion. We served it with red wine and crusty french bread. I will definitely make this again and might add escarole at the end next time. Thank you very much for posting this healthy and delicious recipe!

For the ingredients this recipe lists i can only give a 3 star rating. I love both lentils and curry and this dish is terribly bland. Trying it a second time, I modified it after reading suggestions by other users. I added carrots and sauted it with the garlic, onion, and celery and added the lentils later. I doubled the curry powder and added yellow curry paste ( that's what I had on hand) as well as a bit of corriander. I substituted the water with broth and used 2 large fresh vine tomatoes chopped instead the canned. At the end, i added fresh curly leaf parsley to it and some pepper. It also can use a splash of lemon juice or vinegar. Chickpeas would work great with this dish.

This soup was pretty good although it seemed like it was missing something. I added a little dried basil and sprinkled grated parmesean cheese on top which helped. I think it would be better made with chicken or vegetable stock instead of water.

I loved this as a base for a good stew. My husband is a vegetarian so I am always looking for a good meatless main dish. I added four large potatos and tripled the curry powder. We love spices so I always add more than called for. But with more curry powder it gave more of an Indian flair. Great with a big chunk of crusty bread. Will def make again.

This was incredible with a few alterations. I doubled the recipe, replaced the water with veggie broth, used a 14 oz can of stewed tomatoes, sliced 1 stalk of celery and 1 good sized carrot, half of an onion roughly chopped, two minced cloves of garlic, 1.5 tsp curry powder and 1/2 tsp of garam masala. So delicious.

This was delicious!! I read the reviews and modified as follows. Vegetable stock instead of water. More tomatoes. Halved the celery and replaced the other half with carrots. Used a little less garlic. Added much more curry. And it still was missing a little zing, so I added cayenne pepper, coriander, cumin, and cardamom. Then added coconut milk at the very end. I quadrupled the recipe and had enough to freeze. Looking forward to defrosting it...

I love your recipie! I make it for the PTA all the time. Thank you....and thanks for all the rants and raves I should be passing to you:)

VERY tasty. Good Stuff.

Tasted great! I added potatos as well, and extra tomatoes and curry powder. Next time I am going to try adding carrot as well.

Thanks for this really good recipe. I did add a few more vegetables that needed a home including some zucchini; I added chicken base to the water; and I sauteed the vegetables first is about a tablespoon of olive oil. Habit I guess, but I think that's better than adding half and half. I think the secret ingredient was the curry which I added more of for good measure. YUM!

This is a great base recipe. My changes were I tripled the recipe, using 3 cups of chicken broth instead of water, 14.5 oz. can of stewed tomatoes, 1 tsp of curry powder (all I had or I might have put in a little more), 1 to 1-1/2 cups of dry lentils, and probably a tablespoon (maybe more) or so of minced garlic (jarred). I didn't have any celery, but I had just come back from the farmers market so threw in a bit of everything I had gotten - some chopped fresh carrots, a whole sweet onion chopped, green beans, and fingerling potatoes. With all of the extras it had to cook a little longer, and I added a little more chicken broth part-way through. My changes were mostly just throwing in extra veggies so I'm giving the base recipe 5 stars because this was delish! I think this might also be good with some cubed squash thrown in. It's great to find a base recipe that you can really make your own.

Absolutely DELICIOUS starting recipe. I doubled the recipe and added half a cup of water, a potato, two carrots, red pepper, a cube of chicken bouillon, and half a granny smith apple. I let mine simmer for an hour which made it creamy in texture. Don't be shy with the seasonings either. This is a versatile recipe that I will make again and again!

Very good base recipe. I've made it a few times now, always with a full teaspoon of curry powder because no one ever adds enough!

I don't understand why this got such great reviews. As the recipe is written, it has absolutely no flavor. You've got to add A LOT to make it tasty, thereby making it a totally different recipe. Thumbs down.

This is a fantastic recipe that is filling and healthy and affordable. I tripled the recipe and made adjustments according to what I had available, and it came out delicious. The changes I made: Green pepper instead of celery; added one white potato, cubed; and added 1/8 tsp of cayenne pepper for a little bit of a kick.

I'm not sure about this recipe. Too many lentils for the amount of liquid and I wish I'd used broth instead of water for more flavor. Thought it had an interesting taste at the end, but only after I added twice as much curry and some bouillon. I will make it again, but will do it quite differently next time.

Yum! I added carrots and a sweet potato that needed to be used and both were great. I doubled the curry powder and added 1/4 tsp garam masala and 1/4 tsp coriander as well as some red pepper. Definitely needed a little spicing up! At the end, I took 1/3 of the stew and blended it in the food processor with some sour cream then added it back in. Makes for a wonderfully creamy, more soupy consistency. I think you could add just about any veggie to this easy base recipe for a yummy hearty stew...very flexible. Will definitely make again.

Very tasty! I added mixed frozen veggies and that gave it a nice color and a more varied texture.

Excellent recipe! I tripled it and added a few additional ingredients based on other reviews - 1/2 can (4 oz.) of coconut milk (at end) 1 can (8 oz.) of chick peas 1 can (8 oz.) of tomato paste 1 sweet potato I will definitely be making this one again!

This was great with the addition of chopped potatoes. We turned the leftovers into burritos with rice inside flour tortillas.

This was delicious! I doubled the recipe for my family and we all enjoyed it. Super hearty for a meatless meal.

This was wonderful! I replaced the celery with a can of corn, and I also increased the onion. I didn't exactly measure the curry; I just added to taste. The other change was that I used a stick blender to make it a lot smoother. It got rave reviews from everyone who ate it! Cheap, healthy, fast, and delicious. Perfect!

I too made some changes: added a bay leaf Used chicken broth(and used more liquids) halved the celery Added 1 carrot Added 2 small potatoes Added 1 yellow squash Added some cream before serving. I was surprised by how good this turned out - it exceeded my expectations

Amazing. Added red onion and two cans stewed tomatoes. Served it with tofu sausages and it was awesome. Hubby loves it, will make again for sure!!

Excellent recipe, quick prep! I added carrots for more color, and extra curry and garlic. Also, when adding the stewed tomatoes I poured in the whole can rather than add extra water. Great for a rainy day with a toasted piece of ww sourdough bread :)

This was very easy and very yummy. I used plain petite diced tomatoes because I had them on hand and it was missing something so I just added extra seasoning. I used vegetable broth instead of water. I made this for my 13 year old who recently decided she's vegetarian and it was tastier than the Irish beef stew I made for the rest of the family! We'll definitely make again.

I doubled this recipe and the end result of this Curry Lentil Stew was pleasantly delicious, however,I made some changes and additions based on the comments I read. As it has been said previously, this is a great foundation for the stew, and adding the ingredients you prefer will only make it better. Definitely add more spice than called for and add others that you see suggested in the reviews.I boiled the lentils in chicken stock, added chick peas, yellow peppers,and cayenne pepper. Added a dollop of greek plain yogurt when served.

I think this would have been a little bland for my tastes as is. I added 1 can of low fat coconut milk, 1 tbs hot curry paste, cayenne, and a bit of allspice and cinnamon for some sweetness. I also used vegetable broth as opposed to water. It was absolutely fabulous with the alterations!

This was absolutely delish! I substituded vegetable broth for water, added carrots, and a LOT more curry than the recipe called for. I served it with a dollop of plain yogurt on top, and pita bread. It was a big hit, and was even better the next day! Definitely making this again! :)

This was great! I more/less quadrupled* the recipe to have enough for the family, and everyone loved it... including the kids! Absolutely fantastic, and we'll definitely do it again. *I used a 1-pound bag of lentils and multiplied other ingredients except the celery and garlic accordingly. Two ribs of celery plus a fistful of leaves was sufficient, and I didn't dare throw in more than four garlic cloves. Results were outstanding!

if your guest is not a big fan of lentils add more tomatoes

I had to make a few alterations to the recipe. I doubled it. However I made the following adjustments: 1) I used about 3.5 cups of chicken broth, 2) a can of Italian seasoned tomatoes (didn't have anything else!), 3) a medium onion diced, 4) three cloves of garlic, 5) a whole teaspoon of curry powder (and I think it may need more), and 6) omitted the celery (didn't have any).

When I found this recipe, I decided to use an entire bag of lentils and make seven times the original amount because I was certain it would turn out. Let me tell you, it is divine! I multiplied everything in the recipe by seven except for the garlic. It tastes wonderful.

This is delicious, quick, and easy! I added extra curry and a bit of dried basil. I also used an entire can of tomatoes. It came out delicious, especially for such a simple and easy recipe with so few ingredients. Can't wait 'til tomorrow for leftovers!

I made the recipe as is. I think it was great! Very versatile as stated in other reviews with their tweeking of the ingredients. I also like it was in a small amount so I didn't end up with a huge pot of something I didn't like, just in case. Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Thank you for a great recipe. I added some other veggies to this, and used chicken stock instead of water, but the basic recipe is wonderful. I made this for dinner tonight and my husband loved it. I made enough so he could take some to work tomorrow. I served it with whole wheat rolls. He is one of those fellas that thinks you have to have meat at dinner. Well, he had two bowls and then I told him there was no meat in it. He just smiled and said this is a wonderful meal. This dish is a keeper. Will put it into our regular rotation

This recipe did not turn out well for me at all. I tried to scale it up for 12, at which point it calls for 18 cloves of garlic. That seemed outrageous, but I trusted and tried anyway. Alas, it was as garlic-y and disgusting as it seemed while I was making it.

Pretty good stew. It could use a lil something more to make it amazing! I did omit the celery and added carrots. I would have enjoyed a bit more creamy taste....I added a 1/4 cup milk at the end, but it didn't cream up as much as I would have enjoyed. I think that next time I will add some shredded chicken or ground beef. I also think that adding some saigon cinnamon would enhance the flavors. Pretty good recipe though.

This the first time I have ever made lentils and it was delicious. I added carrots instead of celery because I didn't have any and just a little bit of coconut milk while it was simmering. I love the taste. Thank you for the recipe.

This is a really good basic recipe for Lentil Stew. I've added Coconut milk and a little ginger at times. Bottled Thai red curry also works well.

A good hearty stew. Easy to alter ingredients to your tastes. Very garlicky (mmmmm)!

Really liked it, followed the recipe except switched celery for red bell peppers and fresh tomatoes, not canned. gonna make again for sure, highly recommend.

This was so tasty and QUICK! Added red peppers, zucchini in place of celery and it was still DELISH!

I've had a bag of brown lentils and a few cans of fire roasted tomatoes in my cabinet for months now, wondering what I should do with them. I received this recipe via email (through the site subscription) and thought it would be the perfect recipe solution. I'm also on a tight budget at the moment and this is extremely inexpensive to make. It's very quick and easy too! I tried to leave the recipe as is (it sounded just fine to me). I did double it, made some spice adjustments, and used vegetable broth instead of water. This simple stew has excellent flavor, it's filling, and healthy. Everything I look for in a meal!

Great recipe! Definitely double, if not triple this recipe. Also, I had to simmer it for more then an hour for the right lentil tenderness. I used chili sauce instead of tomates and it was very tasty!!

Have made this several times and my husband and I love it. The recipe is great as is but I made a few changes for our taste. I cook the garlic and onions in olive oil before adding it and it really seems to bring out more flavor. I also use chicken broth instead of water and omit the celery because I rarely have it on hand. Sometimes I add chopped cooked carrots and/or cooked potatoes. I serve it with homemade wheat bread and it is such a huge treat on a cold night!

Easy, tasty, and filling! I made some substitutions--I used broth instead of water, a full onion instead of 1/8th of one, carrots instead of celery, and a can of diced tomatoes instead of stewed tomatoes. I sauteed the onion, garlic, and carrots until the onion softened before adding the rest of the ingredients. I also increased the amount of curry to around 1 teaspoon, because I love anything curry-flavored.

Excellent recipe, I added green pepper, zucchini, olive oil, more curry!!! Love it!

Delicious. I doubled the recipe and used a bit more chopped onion. I squeezed some fresh lemon juice on at the end to give it a little more kick. I will definitely make this again.

This was so good. I added some extra curry powder, carrots and potatoes like others said. It went to a church dinner and got rave reviews.

great recipe! my only suggestion would be to add more curry powder! tastes great over rice, too.

Had this over brown rice. Very delicious!

This turned out great! We added pureed cherry tomatoes and shredded carrots because they were on hand and needed to be used. I agree with another reviewer that there isn't enough curry; I tripled the recipe and put in 3 tsp but I will probably do more next time

Came out a little dry, so I would add more water (or chicken broth) next time. The flavor was great. We doubled the curry and also added tobasco for some extra heat. Will be making this again.

This was a pretty good recipe... very easy to make and healthy. I think if I were to make it again I would use less celery (I am not a huge celery fan), and perhaps add some carrots and more tomatoes. I did enjoy this recipe though.

Absolutely delicious! I substituted bell pepper stews for the celery just because that's what I happened to have. I am sure all kinds of variations are wonderful too!

This was really good for how inexpensive the ingredients are; my 10 year old loved it too! I added a piece of cinnamon bark and some garam masala plus a little ginger-garlic paste instead of all garlic. I also added some chili sauce after cooking just to my bowl for a little heat...excellent!

I did add a little cider vinegar after tasting it towards the end of cooking and finding it somewhat bland, but it ended up tasting great and my kids even had seconds! It was extra yummy with a cheeky blob of sour cream on the top.

For lentil lovers, a VERY delicious stew! There was a lot of flavor, something often lacking in lentil dishes. I tripled the recipe to feed my family. Used diced tomatoes in puree, added a diced potato & much more curry (we like spice!). I didn't see the part about adding the spices until the last 15 minutes until after I had already added everything to the lentils. It's still delicious!

My family wanted to eat more heart healthy and I found this recipe and made it for lunch. They loved it so I brought some to work and it really was a hit! I am sharing this site with everyone. Thanks Robin!

Very very nice - perfect for a rainy afternoon. Made as directed and it was good (although a bit thick for me). Modified as follows: 1 cup lentils, 1 can chicken broth, 2 cups water, 1 can stewed tomatoes, sauteed the veggies in olive oil before adding, added carrots, a palm full of brown rice, and a small chunk of parm cheese rind. Even my grandkids wolfed it down. Thank you so much for recipe.

OH MY GOSH - So good!! Granted, I made many changes based on other reviewers' suggestions. First, I upped the amount of lentils and added a handful of quinoa (very healthy). In a separate pan I sauteed 2 celery sticks and a big carrot with a whole onion until fairly tender. I then added about 6 cloves of minced garlic, sauteed further, and added all of this to the boiling lentil-quinoa mixture with a 28 oz. can of diced tomatoes. I let this simmer for the time suggested, and added 1 full tsp. curry powder, a 1/4 tsp. cayenne pepper, as well as salt and pepper. It is amazing, even without chicken stock! Vegan-friendy and super-healthy. Thank-you!

This was a good, healthy recipe. I like my food spicy, and added a finely diced serrano pepper to the mix. Next time I will also use chicken stock for more flavor.

super tasty ,super cheap .. thanks to Robin Oswald who sent it , i made use of the reviews & added carrot & potato try it ! hard to regret

4.5 stars, actually. This was good! Two slight variations for me: I used a full teaspoon of curry (I know me), and added a bit of cayenne pepper (thanks to another reviewer's suggestion -- yum!). This recipe calls for too little water; even after adding 1/2 c. during the cooking process, I ended up with a dish that isn't anything close to a stew. Next time, I'll start with more water so I can end up with a soup/stew. Will definitely make again.

This is an excellent recipe! I doubled it and used 1 tbsp. of hot curry paste instead of powder. Also added carrots to use them up. Thank-you.....I will be making this again and again!

Just made this (with a few minor changes) and it's delicious! I used olive oil instead of butter, 1 sweet potato and about half of a large red onion. I also could only find the grey-green lentils, which look disgusting but taste great, and I doubled the amount called for and added 1/2 tesp of cayenne pepper after it was all done because I felt it needed a little kick. I only pureed part of it, mostly the sweet potatoes. Great served over brown rice! I'll definitely be making this again.

Wow! Great recipe. The only changes I made were to use vegetable broth instead of water and double the curry. This recipe was fanastic. It is quick, nutritious, and delicious.

I also used chicken broth instead of water. This was great! (And very inexpensive to make.)

Yum! I really liked this recipe and will make it again for sure. I used chicken stock in place of water as suggested by one poster and added sweet potato and cumin as well as curry. I also added about 2 teaspoons of Clubhouse Tex Mex spice which gave it a nice flavour. Delicious!

This was an awesome soup. I added potatoes and the only tomatoes I had were "balsamic vinegar, basil and olive oil". I was a little worried it would clash with the curry powder but it turned out fabulous! I also used vegetable broth instead of water.

This was really good! I did tweak it a little after reading other reviews I added some finely chopped carrotts and used vegetable broth instead of water and fresh tomatoes. I also generously doubled the curry. Hmmmm. Love curry! This was great and even DH was impressed, this from the man who doesnt like lentils:)

This was fantastic! I added some Paprika, cayenne to spice it up and cummin powder.

Love this recipe. I made some adjustments... used sea salt and diced tomatoes, added carrots, and added andouille sausage. A family hit!

This was tasty but not quite what I was expecting. I doubled the recipe and based on previous reviews, I added more curry powder. It wasn't anything special, but I'll make it again.

Great soup base! I will definitely try it with potatoes. I liked that there was no oil involved.

Did not love the flavor. Very average.

Nice stew-y meal, hearty and spicy. I follows others' suit and added some other veggies - I used a frozen mix of stew vegetables (potatoes, celery, carrots) and added them in the last 15 minutes with the curry powder. Delish!

A person will notice that a large number of comments also use this as a base, and then modify it with something like carrots. That is the correct way to look at this recipe. It gave me new ideas and I look forward to trying out new soup recipes based on this one, but this recipe alone wasn't that great.

Really enjoyed it. Made it as written but had to add more curry powder to fit my tastes. Keep an eye on this, I had to add a lot more liquid as it cooked. Very good, healthy, and filling! I think a variety of veggies would work in this dish. Thanks!

After reading other reviews I used fresh tomatoes, doubled the (hot) curry powder, substituted carrots for celery and served it over rice. Talk about comfort food! I'm glad I doubled the recipe. Might serve it with some Indian pickles tomorrow. If this sort of thing matters to you, it was easy to prepare and clean-up was a breeze.

Tasted excellent.. Subbed fire roasted tomatoes, Chicken bone broth and added a cup of Diced chicken

I ended up adding another can of tomatoes to make it a little thicker (I whizzed it up with a hand blender first), and I used homemade veggie broth too. I enjoyed this. Thanks, Robin!

Pretty good stew. Children did not like but adults did. Will make agian.

I followed other reviews and used chicken broth and fresh tomatos, and we absolutely loved this dish! Next time we will add some chicken or sausage for a more complete meal.

I also added half and half at the end to make it a creamy stew. Very good!

This was OK but not the best. I discovered that I don't think curry in this type of recipe is very good (yes, just my opinion), but it was fairly mild so I covered it up easily with a bit extra pepper and salt. Even so, it was only "OK." I do agree this is a recipe for lentil lovers.

Very Good hearty stew... added cooked Chicken for extra protein! I made the whole pound bag of lentils and used chicken stock instead of water. Green peppers instead of celery and added Carrots! So good. I also used a small can of seasoned tomato sauce, and a little bit more of everything, since I made it with more lentils. I served it with biscuits. Yumm, very filling, thanks for sharing!

This was okay. Not thrilling, really healthy and just okay in the taste department.

I made this recipe pretty much as-is, and it was better than I expected. I agree that it's probably better as a base to customize to your tastes, but even as-written I thought it was flavorful and yummy.

Very good! I, too, added more curry and other seasonings. Next time, I may carmelize the onions and saute the garlic and vegetables first. Added juice from canned tomatoes rather than water. Everything turned out fine, well cooked but not mushy. Served with a generous sprig of fresh basil on the top.

Delicious- I followed the recipe exactly, except for using bell pepper instead of celery. I'll definitely be making this again.

This recipe is delicious. I substituted in pepper for the celery as someone suggested. It does make a rather small amount, as the description suggests so be aware and adjust as necessary.