Curried Lentil Soup with Potatoes

Curried Lentil Soup with Potatoes

In this month's IHCC - Mystery Box Madness Challenge, we can choose a dish from Diana Henry or any previous ten IHCC chefs. This chosen dish must contain at least three of these mystery ingredients: chocolate, cherries, cinnamon, rolled oats, couscous, pomegranate, curry, coconut milk, lentils, hot peppers/chiles.

I choose Mark Bittman's Indian-style curried lentil soup. I love lentils (or dhal). So, the three mystery ingredients are: curry, coconut milk, and lentils.

Ingredients:
(Serves 2)

2 tablespoons rice bran oil
1 small yellow onion, roughly chopped
Salt and pepper
1 teaspoon curry powder
1 teaspoon turmeric powder
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
1/2 cup minced pork
1 cup dried lentils, soaked for 4 hours & drained (I used yellow, green, and red lentils)
2 cups water
1 cup low fat coconut milk
1 medium potato, peeled & cut into chunks
2 medium sweet potatoes, peeled & cut into chunks (I used 1 orange and 1 purple sweet potatoes)

How to:

1. Heat oil in a saucepan over medium high heat. When hot, add onions and cook until soft, about 3 minutes. Sprinkle with salt and pepper and stir in curry powder and spices. Stir frequently until darkened and fragrant, about 1 or 2 minutes.

2. Stir in minced pork and lentils. Add water. Bring to a boil, partially cover, and turn down heat to simmer for about 20 minutes.

3. Stir occasionally until lentils are just becoming tender. Stir in all potatoes and coconut milk. Add more water if needed. Cover and simmer for another 15 minutes or until potatoes become fork-tender.

4. Serve hot with rice.