Coconut Curry Lentil Stew

This is a quick-to-prepare, delicious-to-eat, one-pot lentil stew. Because it contains a can of full-fat coconut milk, it’s hearty and filling and doesn’t need to be served with much of anything. Here I added some garden chives and they were a welcome addition of green, herby flavor.

The stew itself is a great recipe to have in your mental archives because it’s comprised of pantry staples (lentils, diced tomatoes, coconut milk, curry powder) and storage vegetables (onion, garlic, ginger, carrots) and because of this I find myself throwing it together often.

Lentils are one of my favorite foods for breakfast, lunch or dinner. They’re high in both fiber and protein, making them ideal for simple, one-pot meals that fill you up and keep you going. Lentils are also high in B-vitamins, magnesium, zinc, iron and potassium.

My whole family has enjoyed this stew from Day 1. I think maybe it’s the classic combination of coconut milk and curry, but whatever the reason, this stew has quickly become a regular rotation meal. Other legume-centric favorites from the recipe archives include Moroccan Chickpea Stew, Moroccan Lentil Soup and Quick Taco Beans.

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Coconut Curry Lentil Stew

Notes: If you’re avoiding gluten, be sure to pick through your lentils and take out any gluten grains that may be hiding in there. I pour 1/2 cup at a time onto a large white plate, making it easy to sift through and see everything. Every once in a while a little pebble may be hiding in there as well. Also, I’m writing this recipe for a pressure cooker, but if you don’t have one you can easily make the stew in a stock pot on the stove. After you add the lentils, coconut milk and water, bring everything to a boil, then cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 35-40 minutes until the lentils are tender. Finally, I specifically call for French green lentils here because, unlike many other varieties, these lentils hold their shape with cooking. Puy lentils are a sub-category of French green lentils and therefore also fine to use. Leftovers can be thinned with a bit of water before serving.

Special equipment:
Instant Pot or other pressure cooker

1 1/2 cups French green lentils, picked over and rinsed (see note)
Good glug of olive oil (coconut oil can also be used here)
1 large yellow onion, chopped
3 medium / large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
3 medium / large carrots, diced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 tablespoons curry powder
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (the whole can / do not drain)
15 oz can full-fat coconut milk (I like Native Forest brand)
1 3/4 cups water
Sea salt to taste, usually 1 - 1 1/2 teaspoons

Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function and pour in a good plug of olive oil. Add the onion and sauté for a few minutes. Add the garlic and stir until fragrant, then add the carrots and sauté for a few minutes more. When the vegetables have softened a bit, add the freshly grated ginger and the curry powder. Stir well for a few moments, then pour in the can of diced tomatoes. The acid from the tomatoes will do a great job of unsticking anything from the bottom of the pan.

Add the lentils, coconut milk and water to the pot. Give everything a good stir and secure the lid. Cancel the sauté function, turn the knob on top to the “sealing” position, cook on high pressure for 13 minutes and let the pressure release naturally.

Once it’s safe to do so, open the lid and season the stew with sea salt to taste.

Serves 4-6

Moroccan Chickpea Stew

If you’re looking for a nutritious, deeply flavorful stew that can be easily made in your Instant Pot (or other pressure cooker), this is one of the best I’ve made in a while. Adapted from a Melissa Clark recipe with a similar title, I put in a hefty amount of anti-inflammatory turmeric, flavor-forward garam masala and a whole can of diced tomatoes which are rich in the antioxidant lycopene. This stew is extremely flavorful and warming. Chickpeas and kale add a good amount of fiber too.

I hope you enjoy this as much as I do. It’s good the second day, as is the case with most soups and stews, and can be thinned with a little extra water as needed.

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Moroccan Chickpea Stew
Adapted from Moroccan Chickpeas + Kale in Melissa Clark’s Dinner in an Instant (pg 103).

Notes: I make this stew in my Instant Pot and wrote the recipe that way, but you could easily sauté all the vegetables in a large stock pot and cook the chickpeas over the stove. If you’re cooking over the stove, add enough water to cover the chickpeas and keep an eye on them, adding a bit more water if necessary. Stove-top chickpeas (if soaked) will cook in 60-90 minutes. Chickpeas that are NOT soaked will pressure cook for 50 minutes and stove-top cook for approximately 90-120 minutes. Soaking improves digestion and saves energy. I recommend it!

Special equipment:
Instant Pot or other pressure cooker

1 lb dried chickpeas
Filtered water to cover by 2-3 inches

3-5 tablespoons olive oil
1 large yellow onion, chopped
4-5 large cloves of garlic, finely chopped
2 large carrots, diced
1 tablespoon freshly grated ginger
2 1/2 teaspoons sea salt
1 tablespoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon (sweet / regular) paprika
1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala
1/2 teaspoon ground cumin
Good grinding of black pepper
14.5 oz can diced tomatoes (the whole can / do not drain)
5 1/2 cups filtered water
1 bunch kale, de-stemmed and chopped (I use Lacinato here)
Cilantro or parsley, to serve (optional)

About 24 hours before you plan to make your stew, put your chickpeas in a pot and cover with filtered water by about 3 inches. The chickpeas will expand quite a bit; you can add more water if they’re dry at the top.

When you’re ready to start cooking, drain the chickpeas and rinse well.

Turn on the sauté function on the pressure cooker and add a glug of olive oil. As it starts to heat up, add the onion and sauté for 5-7 minutes, stirring frequently. Next add the garlic, stirring, until fragrant. Add in the carrot and ginger and stir this until fragrant as well. If things are looking a little dry, add another glug of olive oil. Next, add the sea salt, turmeric, paprika, garam masala, cumin and black pepper and stir well. When all the spices have been incorporated, pour in the entire can of diced tomatoes and stir again.

Add in the drained chickpeas and 5 1/2 cups of filtered water. Secure the lid onto the pressure cooker, turn the knob on top to the “sealing” position, and set it to cook on high pressure for 15 minutes; let the pressure release naturally when finished. (If the chickpeas aren’t quite done at this point, you can pressure cook for another 5 minutes or so, releasing the pressure manually afterwards.)

When the chickpeas are cooked, stir in the chopped kale. I find that the heat is enough to soften the kale without any additional cooking.

Carefully taste for salt level and add more as desired. You can serve this as is or garnished with chopped cilantro or parsley.

Serves 4-6

Melissa Clark's Instant Pot Lentils

This is one of my favorite ways to cook lentils, and I cook lentils a lot. If there are lentils in the fridge, I feel like we have something to eat. We typically enjoy these with some combination of chicken or chicken sausage, sweet potato oven fries, quinoa, salad and/or Spanish kale. I also sometimes eat these lentils in a cabbage leaf with some hot sauce, kind-of as an odd taco, but (at our house anyway) that’s just me…

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Melissa Clark’s Instant Pot Lentils
Adapted, only very slightly, from the Smoky Lentils + Sausage recipe in Dinner in an Instant by Melissa Clark

Notes: If I’m cooking mostly for myself and/or for incidental meals as needed, I’ll make the 1 1/2 cup version. But if I’m making these for our family dinner and would also like some leftovers for the next couple days, I’ll go for the 2 cup version. Iif you have celiac disease or are otherwise very sensitive to gluten, be sure to pick over your lentils to check for any gluten grains. Some batches will have quite a few hiding out in there. Rinse in a strainer when finished.

Special equipment:
Instant Pot or other pressure cooker

1 1/2 cups of dry lentils version:
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 teaspoon smoked paprika
1/4 cup dry red wine
1 1/2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
Generous 2 3/4 cups filtered water
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
2-3 teaspoons apple cider vinegar, or to taste

2 cups of dry lentils version:
Olive oil
1 yellow onion, chopped
4-5 garlic cloves, finely chopped
Freshly ground black pepper
1 1/2 teaspoons smoked paprika
1/3 cup dry red wine
2 cups lentils, picked over and rinsed
3 3/4 cups filtered water
Several sprigs of fresh thyme
1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt, or to taste
1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar, or to taste

Turn your Instant Pot to the sauté function, pour in 2-3 tablespoons of olive oil, add the onion and sauté for 5-8 minutes, stirring frequently. I like for the onions to soften quite a bit in this step. Add the garlic and sauté for another minute, stirring frequently. Grind in some black pepper, add the smoked paprika, quickly stir, then pour in the wine and scrape up any brown bits from the bottom of the pot.

Add the lentils, water and thyme sprigs and cook on high pressure for 11 minutes, then let the pressure release naturally. Once the pressure is completely released, open the lid and discard the thyme sprigs. Add sea salt and apple cider vinegar to taste and serve.

1 1/2 cup version serves 6-8.

2 cup version serves 8-10.