Lentil, Chickpea, and Potato Curry

I’ve now closed all the tabs for the recipes that inspired this –  I think this may have been one, maybe this as well, and I spent a goodly time browsing the archives of Indian food blogs like One Hot Stove.  What came out, while not exactly an authentic dish, is delicious and healthy.  I suppose it could be called a channa dal (I think “channa” refers to chickpeas, “dal” to lentils).  Potatoes are aloo. So this should be aloo channa dal?

I served this with chappati, the technique for which I’m still perfecting.

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Cabbage, Potato, and Carrot Soup

I have a lot of holiday recipes to add, but I’m going to start with this soup.  It is not a visually attractive soup, lacking the striking green of a blended broccoli soup or the popping colors of a black bean and squash chili.  Instead it’s somewhat brown and orange, since it consists of cabbage, potatoes, and carrots.  But it is tasty, easy, and relatively simple, which is nice this time of year when people feel overwhelmed by highly caloric, highly complex holiday food.

I made this a year ago and lost the recipe, so this time I used this one.

Ingredients

  • 1-2 T. olive oil
  • 1/2 onion (sweet white), minced
  • 1 clove garlic, peeled and smashed
  • 1 large potato, washed and chopped (don’t bother to peel it)
  • about 1/2 bag matchstick carrots
  • slightly less than 1/2 of a small green cabbage, chopped into small pieces
  • 3 c. water + 3 cubes veggie bouillon
  • seasoning: oregano, basil, rosemary, dill, red pepper flakes, coriander, salt, pepper

Methodology

  1. Put a large pot on the stove to heat.  Add olive oil, then veggies as you are done cutting them up.  Mix.
  2. Add water, bouillon, and seasoning (not salt and pepper yet but everything else).
  3. Cover and simmer until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
  4. Turn off the stove.  Ladle the veg (as best you can – don’t have to get it all) into the Cuisinart and puree it.  Add the puree back into the broth and let it heat on low for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally.  Add salt and pepper to taste.
  5. Serve with parmesan, bread, etc.

Notes

  • I didn’t make this very spicy.  It also could have used more salt.  Still, it was very tasty, and not as heavy as almost everything else I’ve eaten recently.  That’s a plus.