I decided to try and recreate the Deliciously Ella Yellow Thai Curry that we had a couple of weeks ago. It was delicious, and yes, we will keep a couple of them in the freezer for 'emergency meals' but for day to day eating I wanted something quite a bit cheaper but just as tasty. A sort of Dhal version, but with the same coconutty taste.
Using the ingredients in the photo above I set too.
Gently sautéing the onions for ten minutes to develop the flavour, then adding a good heaped teaspoon or two of Cumin. After another couple of minutes I added the now quartered cherry tomatoes and then tipped in a couple of handfuls of rinsed Red Lentils. These were stirred in the now spicy onions for a minute and then I tipped in the can of Coconut Milk along with a couple of tablespoons of desiccated coconut.
Finally I filled the coconut milk can with water from the kettle and tipped that in too. It was quickly brought to a boil and then left simmering for around half an hour for the lentils to soften and absorb all that lovely coconutty goodness.
It might not have been this ...
... but it tasted beautiful.
There was enough for a portion each with rice and garlic bread one night.
And then another good sized portion to go on our picky plates the night after.
All from such cheap and simple ingredients.
Quality ready meals have their place and when I find them I will never be ashamed to splash out and have them on standby, but it is nice to be able to recreate a cheaper but still as healthy version for yourself.
And next time I might double up the recipe and see if my version freezes well too.
Sue xx
Mmmm - delicious!
ReplyDeletexx
It really was :-)
DeleteThanks Sue, going to make this in a few days, I have all those ingredients in. x
ReplyDeleteIt's surprising how few ingredients I needed to duplicate the taste. I'm going to have a read of the label next time I see the Deliciously Ella version in the shops.
DeleteLooks delicious.
ReplyDeleteWe both enjoyed it, both nights :-)
DeleteLove your recipes. How long have you been vegan? Was the transition easy?
ReplyDeleteI have always hated red meats, but was made to eat them as a child. I ate chicken and bacon, until we kept chickens and pigs and then I went vegetarian, that was back in 2009. I did Veganuary in 2017 after researching for myself the dairy and egg industries and then stayed mostly vegan after that.
DeleteI do have odd occasions when I will eat fish, but they are getting further and further apart, I'm talking once a month if that! And now we are not eating out at all it is even easier to stay predominantly plant based. Officially I would not call myself 'vegan' as I have leather shoes, bags belts etc and whilst I still have and wear those (and they will of course last me years) I should really say that I am eating plant-based rather than 'vegan'. But it is far easier to say vegan when asked quickly.
Transitioning is easy once you see the utter cruelty in the dairy and egg industries.
I've been learning how to use more of my lentil supply rather than just for soup and I've been meaning to try a dhal and I love coconut milk - make a lot of curries, both vegetarian and non with it so this sounds great.
ReplyDeleteOh I just lob them in so many dishes, as a protein dense filler. So it was nice to make them the star of this particular dish.
DeleteNext time, maybe add some turmeric, if you have it, to the lentils; it'll give them a nice, yellow color.
ReplyDeleteThat is a really good idea for presentations sake, and of course it will add a nuance of flavour too. I am more than used to eating sludgy coloured dahls, so I didn't even think to do that :-)
DeleteThanks. I am mostly vegetarian and having a hard time giving up the dairy and eggs. So I am always looking for tasty vegan recipes.
ReplyDeleteThanks again.
Looks lovely - I love plant based recipes. Thanks for sharing!
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