Do you often find yourself with an empty fridge, looking for something healthy to feed the family? This lentil curry recipe is perfect. It takes no time at all, is loaded with goodness plus, it’s wholly plant-based so is a great go-to for meat-free Mondays! 

This curry lentil recipe is simple and nutritious and best of all, inexpensive.

One of the dishes served at my sister’s lodge in South Africa is a moreishly delicious lentil curry and I always look forward to enjoying this when I visit. This is a version of their recipe, which I have tweaked to suit my children’s taste buds. It never tastes quite the same as it does when you’re eating this in the cool shade of the patio, with the sounds and smells of Africa enveloping you. Trust me though, this will soon become a regular feature at the family dinner table.

EXTRA VIRGIN OLIVE OIL

Virgin, extra virgin, oil, no oil? It’s so difficult to know which messages to listen to nowadays and views are ever-changing. Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fatty acids, what we call “good fats”. Good fats are so named because they have qualities that benefit us, as opposed to the trans and saturated fats that that saturate (erm, sorry, pun!) our diets today. 

Olive oil also has a higher smoke point than many oils, which makes it good for mid-heat cooking. Oils are fragile and when heated up they change their composition and can become harmful to our bodies.

“What’s the big idea with the extra virgin, Julia?” I hear you ask. My rule of thumb is this: the less processing of a product, the closer it is to its natural form so therefore the less harmful it might be to my body (this is not science, you understand, it’s the world according to Julia). The more processes an oil goes through to prolong its shelf life (as well as being less likely to have held on to its flavour and nutritional elements), the further it is away from virgin. Therefore, extra virgin olive oil is less ‘fiddled with’ than regular olive oil. Also, if you can find “cold pressed” and “unfiltered” this is even better, but not in any way a deal breaker.

LENTILS

There are many varieties of lentil and each type lends itself to certain dishes. I prefer using French Puy lentils as they are creamy with a slightly peppery flavour and keep their shape well when cooked. However, standard green lentils are more readily available and also work well, albeit with a slightly softer texture especially if cooked too long.

The health benefits of lentils are well known – they are rich in protein, fibre and many essential minerals. A word of caution though – for some people with inflammatory gut conditions, lentils can exacerbate these symptoms so if you regularly feel unwell after eating lentils, steer clear.

CELERY

If a recipe calls for chopped onion as a base, I almost always add chopped celery to this too. Quick win – you get to add another vegetable to your dish, the flavour is unnoticeable when cooked as part of a larger dish and celery has great antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

If you do buy celery, try to get organic, as it does appear on the Environmental Working Group’s Dirty Dozen list which means it tends to hold onto higher levels of pesticides. Having said that, some celery is better than none.

CARROTS

Although raw vegetables generally hold onto their nutrients better than cooked, cooking carrots increases the strength of carotenoids, the pigments that give bright yellow, orange and red colours to plants. Carotenoids can help to strengthen your immune system, have high anti-oxidant values and are also known to protect the healthy cells in your eye. Ever wonder where the old adage of carrots helping you to see in the dark came from?

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