Curried Lentils

Very good recipe, but I'd like to try to clear up some confusion: COCONUT MILK (not cream of coconut) is what is generally used for Thai Curry bases, and I believe that was the author's intent here. You should be able to find it in the international food aisle (not with the mixed drink materials). Curry paste is much stronger than curry powder -- I'd recommend no more than 1 teaspoon of the curry paste to begin (maybe even less), and then add to taste. 1 tablespoon will knock your taste-buds off!

Cream of cocounut will make this thicker, but coconut milk will be excellent, too. I use curry powder, not curry paste.

A decent recipe, but not much in it's own right. It's a good base recipe which you can add to or change, but alone it largely depends on the quality of curry paste (or powder) you use. I used low-fat coconut milk and curry powder, along with a dash of whatever garam masala ingredients I had on hand (a little cardamom, coriander, cinammon, and cumin). I also threw in a handful of raisins. Simple and satisfying dish over rice. My two-year old loved it!

Whoa, Nelly! Loved the flavor, but it was hot, hot, hot. I will probably try it again, but will cut the curry paste in half. Make sure you have a glass of water at hand!

Very good recipe. I used chicken broth in place of water and added about 1 1/2 tsp of curry paste. The broth was fiery while it was cooking but it's a bit more tame now. My hubby loves it. It's great served over Jasmine or Basmati rice. Very easy to make, too.

This recipe was yummy with either coconut cream (coconut juice w/lots of sugar) or coconut milk. I added cooked rice and simmered until it was the consistancy I liked. Then serve it with raisins, coconut, chopped peanuts and other curry fixings! Great for those fasting from meat products!!

This recipe is my standard potluck dish for the following reasons: 1.) None of the ingredients for recipe go bad, at least for many months. So I just make sure I never run out of these ingredients, and then when someone invites me to a party or potluck dinner, I always have something to make. 2.) It's vegan, so everyone can eat it, and hearty enough for your vegetarian friends to have something that counts more as a main dish--not just a salad thrown together at the last minute, or spaghetti. 3.) It's fairly easy to remember: cook the lentils in the broth (I always use broth instead of water) until they're softer than they were but not quite done, add the coconut milk and spices, cook until the lentils are soft, serve. Done and done. 4.) It's delicious, and it's always been a hit. In addition to the vegetable broth I usually add yellow raisins (at the very end--I stir them in once everything is done until they're plump) lemon, cayenne pepper, marjoram, garlic powder, and coriander--all to taste. No exact measurements--its hard to really mess up this recipe.

I like this recipe because there are so many add-ins that you can use, and the ease of playing around with the base recipe. When I made it, I added some chicken that was chopped up and had been 'marinated' in curry powder. I also had it with coconut sprinkled on top. I used a full can of coconut milk. If I remember, I cooked it a bit longer than what is stated to get it down to the desired consistency. Eat with naan bread and rice.

I give this a 4, but hesitantly, and wavered between 3 and 4. It's a good recipe, and so easy, but I found it a bit runny for my taste, and let it simmer for a long time to battle that. I doubled the recipe, but only multiplied the coconut milk by 1.5 (note milk, not cream, based on other reviews), and I'm glad I did. Also used curry powder instead of paste to reduce the "heat" because my 1 year old was going to eat it. I'll probably make again mainly because it's so easy.

Had to cook it a bit longer than the recipe stated as it was too runny initially. Used 1 tablespoon of curry paste, and threw in some coconut and raisins. Really enjoyed it, even the kids said make it again!

Great flavor, but WAY too spicy. I would suggest using less than 1/2 of the amount of curry paste that the recipe calls for, and supplement the other 1/2 with curry powder, unless you LOVE spicy food.

Team spicy all the way....We scaled it up to 6 servings and used 1 1/2 cups dry lentils, 1 can coconut milk, 3 cups water, 2 cubes chicken boullion and 2 Tablespoons Hot Curry Powder. I also added about 1 tablespoon sugar and sauteed onions and garlic. Holy smokes this was good!!

This was a very good base recipe. I was looking for something Indian with no tomatoes and this hit the spot. I upped the recipe to make 6 servings to feed my fiance and have leftovers for lunch the next day. Used red lentils and reconstituted 2 veggie bullion cubes instead of plain water, also added about 3/4 cup shredded carrot and a can of baby peas. Threw it all in the crock pot and let it go for a few hours. Was still very watery when done (probably because I used coconut milk & soy milk instead of coconut cream) so I just added cooked basmati rice to the mix and turned out wonderful!

I love this recipe! Cheap, fast, and tasty. I used coconut milk (not cream) and it was plenty thick and delicious. I also added shrimp that I cooked in some oil and curry powder. My curry powder is very mild, so I added a little cayenne pepper to help it along. Great over couscous or rice.

Excellent. I doubled the recipe and used a whole can of regular coconut milk. I added black pepper because it's in my natural moves... but I'll leave it out next time. I did buy curry paste, the red one, and IF I"D MEASURED :-) the flavor would have been not so hot. Looking back I think I put in 3 heaped tablespoons. :-) edible and still tasty though. If you do this or it's too hot, eat cottage cheese or plain yogurt with it. Kills the heat. Will make this again. It's a staple for me.

I really liked this. I am on the spicy team - so I put in the curry paste slowly as recommended by the reviews and found I wanted the whole Tablespoon. I used a red curry paste I like, and am excited to try it next time with a green one. It is great. It is easy - and I topped mine with a dollop of plain yogurt to eat.

I doubled the recipe since the can was roughly 1.5c of coconut milk. It came out awesome with half the curry paste called for - but I felt it needed more. But then, George likes his food spicy. Also, I added 1T of brown sugar which added to the flavor since I used coconut milk instead of cream of coconut. Fantastic over sushi rice!

I used coconut milk instead of cream, too. I really didn't add any other seasonings besides green onions and cilantro, but I definitely did *not* add as much curry paste as they were asking! I doubled the recipe and still only added about two teaspoons and it was spicy enough! Maybe they were using a mild curry paste? Otherwise this was an excellent recipe especially when you let the liquids simmer down thick. Yum!

This was pretty good. I went too heavy on the curry powder, so it was a little overly spicy for me. I added sauteed peppers, onions, and garlic and served over brown rice with broccoli. Overall, a healthy a quick meal. Will probably make again with a few tweaks to decrease the spiciness.

This recipe is very tasty. It's so easy to make and delicious with rice. I used chicken broth instead of water, I added some carrots(soooo good!) and a little bit of parsley. Thanks for sharing!

Delicious! I'm amazed at how good this is considering how simple.

We loved this lentil dish. Here is what I did. I used l lb of green lentils and carrots, boiled in filtered water. 7 cups. In a skillet I sautéed garlic, one large onion, celery and raisons in olive oil. I added a generous amount of garam masala, coriander, cardamom, turmeric and curry (that I mixed together) added raisons and shredded coconut. 1 can coconut cream, delicious. A little heat at the end and a little sweet from the raisons and caramelized onions. Next time I will add more raisons and there will be a next time !!

I mostly followed the recipe I had soaked the lentils the night before so I used less then a cup of water and used the red curry paste 1 tablespoon worked well I didn't think it was spicy

This is a very simple dish to make. I added some carrots, as I love them with lentils, and used coconut milk, not cream of coconut. There certainly didn't need to be any more sweetness. I read quite a few reviews talking about the dish being too spicy, and I overcompensated, so it was not spicy enough - my fault. Next time, I would add some garlic, sautéed onions, and more curry paste. I served it with raisins, chopped peanuts, minced fresh parsley on a bed of couscous with toasted pinenuts and some toasted naan on the side. Thanks!

I also followed other reviewers suggestions and added, 1 tbls gara masala, 1tbls turmeric, 1/3 tsp cardamon, 1/2 tsp cumin, 1/2 tsp garlic powder, 1 tbls curry powder, used chicken bouillon to simmer the lentils instead of water, doubled the recipe and served it over jasmine rice. I did simmer it 10min more- it was so easy and absolutely delicious! I enjoyed leftovers for lunch at work for a couple days! I'm makin' it again today!

AMAZING... when done with the changes "Heather" wrote. Add spices and a hand full of raisins, meow!!!!

I followed reviews, and doubled recipe for my family of 5. I used 1 can of coconut milk, 1Tbs of curry powder,1/2 tsp of cinnamon and used chicken stock instead of water to cook lentils. I also grated 2 carrots and added them the same time I added the coconut milk. There were no leftovers! The other thing I noted was to let it simmer for probably 45 minutes after adding the coconut milk. The lentils were not soft yet after the 15-20 the recipe called for.

This was very good... Added 1 large carrot, diced, with the lentils. At the end, added baby spinach (because I had it) to wilt. Great color and taste!

A little too sweet for us so next time I'm going to use less of the coconut cream. VERY easy recipe and a great way to get lentils in a picky kid!

Doubled the recipe and added fresh ginger and onions. Great recipe but definitely needs some extra ingredients to round it out.

I doubled the recipe and used a full can of light coconut milk cooking until it was fairly thick. As other have suggest I used chicken stock instead of water and 1 tsp of red curry paste. Plenty spicy. Very good.

Very good with adjustments based on reviewer suggestions: used chicken broth instead of water, coconut milk not cream, and curry powder not paste; doubled all ingredients except coconut milk; added 3/4 cup shredded carrot and 1/2 cup golden raisins with the curry and coconut milk. Great with quinoa, tomatoes and avocado in tortillas!

I also added some garam marsala and garnished w green opnion. I served over batsami rice and also used veg broth instead of water when cooking the lentils. I liked it, and my 2-year old ate it up. Plus it's vegan, and that's nice.

This turned out quite well. I think the spicyness all has to do with the curry paste. I made mine from scratch from a recipe I found on recipezaar.com/95907. Top with some mango chutney. Yum.

This was really great! I took the advice of other reviews, and made the following changes: used coconut milk instead of cream of coconut, used curry powder (1.5 tsp) instead of the paste. I also added raisins while the lentils were cooking, and topped with pistachios before eating. The raisins were soft and yummy, and gave it a perfect amount of sweetness! My 1-year-old is a fan. :-)

This is such a heroic dish! Easy to make, easy to alter, and it impresses everyone that I give it to. There is a lot of liquid and usually I end up simmering for an extra 10-15 minutes to fully cook my lentils. Eventually after sitting a while the lentils will absorb most of the juice. The extra yummy liquid is getting all soaked up into the rice anyway– don't worry about it. When I initially boil the lentils I'll add a vegan bullion cube for every two servings I'm making. When I add the coconut milk I like to add a little cumin. I add the same exact amount of curry paste in the ingredient list and it's fine– maybe mine is pretty mild. I like to grate carrots (1/4 cup per 2 servings) and toss them into the lentil mix the last 5-10 minutes of simmering. Extra delicious on jasmine rice and with caramelized onions (with a pinch of cinnamon on the onion).

Good recipe - I had to modify it just a touch after reading a few of the other reviews however. I used mild curry paste (1 tablespoon) and a full can of coconut milk along with 3/4 cup lentils. A little dash of agave juice sweetened up the coconut flavor and a few chopped mild onions added a bit of texture and it was perfect :-)

We loved this recipe. I was a little worried about the amount of spice, but it was perfect. I will definitely be making this again.

I tried this using some suggestions from other users, and it was fantastic!!! For a little extra flavor, I used organic vegetable broth instead of water. Yummy!

This is one of the yummiest and easiest recipes on this website! Thanks - I used pre-cooked lentils from Trader Joe's (about 1 cup) and lite coconut milk and about 1 Tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon of Patak's Mild Curry Paste, so it was perfect. I kept adding coconut milk as it heated so I got the consistency I wanted, probably about 1 cup in all. The second time I tried this I followed the recipe with raw lentils and added sweet potato to cook with it. Was very popular at my house, using the mild curry paste and some cinnamon and sweet curry powder. But completely different tasting from when I used the pre-cooked lentils.

First time using green lentils it turned out great, but the second time I used red lentils and quadrupled the recipe. The liquid was way too much, and it became a soup, would recommend reducing liquid if making multiple batches at once.

I liked the recipe, but the brand of cream of coconut I used made it way too sweet. My lentils also came out a little underdone. I'll have to choose another brand of coconut more carefully, or tweak the recipe a bit. Otherwise, I think the sauce is a great base for adding other ingredients; it has a very Thai flavor. Thanks.

Loved this! I agree with the many other reviewers - this can be a great base for many alterations. I added some chives, a dash of coriander & cumin, and curry powder over paste, which really brought down the heat. My family, who are enamored with pizza and hamburgers, were a little skeptical at first, but it turned out great! I served this with another recipe from allrecipes.com - Grilled Pork Loin Chops, whose ingredients mimicked garam masala - type ingredients. All was fabulous!

Just made these. Added carrots and when almost done threw in a handful of raisins, but regret not loading it up with veggies. I did not measure anything, just used basic recipe to taste. Can't go wrong here. All I had was coconut cream, not the coco milk. Sharp coconut taste. Yum! I'm going to serve with jasmine rice or maybe couscous. Really great basic recipe. I will use again!

Quick and easy. I doubled everything but the curry paste (I used Thai red curry paste), and used a full can of coconut milk. I added approx. 1 teaspoon each of fish sauce, lime juice, and brown sugar, as well as some shredded carrots and green onion. Next time I would probably use slightly more curry paste, but I like my food with a bit of a kick!

Simple and quick. I used curry powder instead of paste and it was a nice depth of flavor, perfect for serving over rice.

I followed the recipe exactly and my boyfriend and I didn't like it, but we don't like lentils very much. I only tried it to get rid of some lentils I had lying around the house. If you like lentils, you might like this recipe.

I really liked this and it was easy to make. Added onion powder, cumin and paprika and curry powder. Served over brown rice. Sprinkled on a little hot sauce. I would make this again.

Used curry powder instead and simmered a little longer to thicken. Great for a quick and dirty curry dish.

This is a good recipe, but a little bland. It's good to play with. Add things to it. It's hard to screw up.

When I first looked at this recipe I wasn't sure what "cream of coconut" was. It sounded like cream based coconut soup to me. After looking up and down the aisles of an Asian market I decided that I thought the recipe had intended "coconut milk." That's what I used and it turned out well. It was very flavorful and spicy, though not too hot.

i even added some root veggies which made it soooo filling and yummy!!!

well this is something that does take getting used to or acquire a taste for. I had to put 3 Tablespoons of curry paste and still the very very sweet taste from the cream of coconut.

Loved this recipe!! Made it with coconut milk and will make this again soon!

I made this and my husband love it. Now I'm making the recipe, but tripling it!. Highly recommend it if you want a simple and easy dish.

I doubled the recipe because I have a big family. The only thing I did different was add a little ginger and I used nearly half of a small jar of green curry. Yum! I served it with jasmine rice, chickpea and potato curry (from dinner spinner), and Naan. Thanks so much!!!

For having such simple ingredients, this was yummy!! Even my meat eating husband loved it. I used coconut CREAM, not milk. (I didn't read the reviews before shopping!) It worked out just fine. Using coconut milk may be lower in calories though. I used vegetable broth in place of water. I did have golden raisins and some coconut on hand that I added at the end upon recommendation of reviewers. My husband would have preferred without raisins. I liked the sweet bites though! I prepared this differently, as I was going to a workout class and wanted dinner to be ready when I got home. Dump all ingredients into crockpot. Turn on High. 1.5 hours or longer. Was perfect for us :)

this recipe came out great except it was very sweet. I think it was the cream of coconut that i used. i had to add more lentils but besides that it was just wonderful.

Beautifully simple recipe, great on its own and easy to dress up with increasingly complex flavors depending on your tastes.

Simple and plain, but good! Had difficulty finding the coconut cream, but it's too runny with coconut milk. Solution = combine coconut milk with half and half.

This was really easy to make. I added steamed broccoli and cauliflower to mine. I also added some garlic and garam masala for my personal taste. It was really good with some soy sauce stirred into it. I'll make it again due to how easy it was.

Definitely will make it again. I doubled the recipe and added 1 tsp chicken bouillon which was half the amount recommended per cup of water on the bouillon jar; otherwise followed the recipe exactly. I found the lentils were soft BEFORE 15 minutes and the result was more pasty than I expected. The result was a thick sauce about spaghetti sauce consistency which was great on the rice. I did not find it too spicy at all, it hardly had any kick to it. I used Thai Kitchen Red Curry Paste and Thai Kitchen Unsweetened Coconut Cream from Little Asia Foods, Llc; perhaps this brand is milder than some of the other reviewers used. Like may have said, there could be many add-ins such as chicken, carrots, peas, etc which we will try next time. I can't wait to cook this for my vegetarian daughter (without the chicken powder).

I doubled the recipe, and used an entire can of coconut milk, added 2 tsp of brown sugar. and used green Thai curry paste. I also added one caramelized onion to the mixture, but found the lentils were still hard. I added on another 15 minutes to the cooking time and added julienne carrots 7 minutes before the finish time. Wonderful spicy dish served over basmati rice, I would reccomend cutting the curry in half if you don't like it too spicy. Will definately make it again and again...

Wow really great recipe, full of flavor! I used chicken broth to cook the lentils and I used the full amount of curry paste and lite coconut milk. I added he sautéed veggies and shrimp to complete the dish.

This is a great quick meal! I added a bit of curry powder to make it a little stronger. Instead of serving over rice, I had spaghetti squash as a base, sautéed kale and the lentils on top. Made a hearty meal on a chilly night!

Simple and scrumptious. Used coconut milk and curry powder as suggested. Very pleased with this easy nutritious recipe!

I really wanted to love this recipe as I like curry but it just didn't work for me. It was a bit better after I added raisins but not good enough to make again.