Curried Lentil "Risotto"

When I studied in France on my own during college, I had to re-learn how to cook (and shop!) for one. I didn’t have much fridge or freezer space so anything I bought fresh had to be used immediately or it was wasted. For the most part, I lived out of my pantry with the help of my host-mother’s amazing spice rack.
One night, a group of students decided to have a little dinner party. The only thing I had at home that I could stretch for five people was a large can of lentils. My host-mother had recently shared with me her recipe for curry risotto, which I’ll eventually get around to transcribing, and I had curry on the brain. I substituted the lentils for the rice and that night my curried lentil “risotto” was born. My friends loved it and it has been a pet recipe of mine for the last several years. I’ve been tweaking it ever since.
When I got back to the States, I found dried lentils much easier to find than canned. (Note that both canned and dried are easy to find in French supermarkets.) Dried lentils actually work a bit better in this recipe, so I’m kind of glad I can’t get the canned, wet variety. With dried lentils, however, you need to over-season them a bit because it takes a lot for the flavors of the curry to come through the dense lentil taste. Like rice, dried lentils also soak up a lot of liquid. If you are using dried lentils and would like to use this as part of a bento, definitely make it the night before as I find this recipe far too involved to handle in the morning.

ingredients

1 cup lentils
2 Tbs. olive oil
3 1/2 cups water
2 Tbs. vegetarian bouillon/powder (I use Osem Chicken Consomme powder which is vegan)
1 Tbs. sugar
1-2 tsp. yellow curry powder (or some mixture of coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, fennel, cloves, mustard seeds)
1-2 tsp. of garam masala (a spice mix made of cloves, allspice, cinnamon, black pepper, available at Indian/South Asian grocery stores as well as many supermarkets)
1/2 tsp. cumin seeds or ground cumin
1/2 tsp. garlic powder
1/2 tsp. powdered ginger
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
salt to taste (bouillon may have already contributed a bit)
handful or two of raisins

directions

1
Coat the inside of a tall-sided stainless steel soup pot with the olive oil, and bring to a medium heat. Add the lentils. Stir with a wooden spoon to coat with olive oil and allow to roast for a minute.
2
Pour in 2 cups of water and all of the spices. Gently stir lentils immediately to make sure none have stuck to the bottom of the pot.
3
Add all of the seasonings except for salt.
4
Stir gently and constantly. When the lentils begin to dry, add another cup of water. Stir, repeat as necessary, until lentils are soft and fully cooked.
5
Taste to make sure lentils are cooked and to check the saltiness. If they need more salt, now is a good time to add it. If there is still a lot of liquid but the lentils are cooked, you can serve as is or continue to cook and stir to allow the excess liquid to evaporate.
6
Remove from heat. Add the raisins.
7
Serve with couscous, rice, a tofu vegetable stir-fry or alongside non-vegetarian proteins such as chicken, pork, lamb or shrimp. As with most curry-based dishes, the flavors becomes more pronounced over time, making these lentils a perfect side dish in both warm and cold bentos.