Lentil curry - pass the vetkoek

Winter is creamy jungle oats, warm toast, soup, bredies, and curry. Tomato bredie without the meat just is not the same, so that is a thing of the past for me, but curry? There I can replace meat with lentils and enjoy every spicy mouthful same as I ever did. When my children were growing up, mince curry with vetkoek was a treat. Vetkoek is made from bread dough, shaped into balls and fried in deep oil (in case you didn't know that!) The jury is still out...hot vetkoek with butter and apricot jam with soup OR vetkoek stuffed with curry? Hmm, I think I will have to make some and run a taste test to see, then do 20 minutes extra on the treadmill as  penance.

                         Spicy Lentils with Vegetables

Serves:  4 Hungry people

1 Onion, chopped

1 Clove Garlic, crushed

5ml Fresh Ginger, grated or chopped finely

10ml Cumin Seeds

20ml Strong Curry Powder

5ml Turmeric

Olive oil

150g Brown Lentils

6 Small potatoes, cut into large chunks

6 Carrots, sliced

5 Baby marrows, sliced

200g Broccoli (I often leave this out, it’s quite a strong taste – can substitute with fresh peas or some chopped beans)

3 Tomatoes Skinned and chopped

Salt to taste

Water to cover

Optional: 1 T chutney or apricot jam or tamarind paste (lovely flavour)

Fry Onions in olive oil till limp, add garlic, ginger and spices. Fry 1 minute, add rest of ingredients, using enough water to cover lentils. You may need to add more water as lentils cook. Cook gently about half hour till lentils are done and vegetables are tender. Add chutney or alternates if using. Serve with brown rice and garnish with some fresh coriander.

Good with some sweet potato or butternut or gem squash