Vegetable Rogan Josh
A quick meal that starts with a curry paste then adds vegetables and lentils for a complete meal that's ready in minutes.
A quick meal that starts with a curry paste then adds vegetables and lentils for a complete meal that's ready in minutes.
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- 2 cloves garlic finely chopped
- 1 onion finely chopped
- 2 courgettes ends removed, cut in half lengthways, and then chopped
- 1 cup green beans fresh or frozen
- 1/2 cup frozen spinach (or use a large handful of fresh chopped roughly)
- 2 tablespoons rogan josh curry paste
- 500 can of chopped tomatoes and 2 tablespoons of tomato puree
- 1 cup red lentils washed.
- Carbohydrate 37.49405 g
- Cholesterol 0 mg
- Fat 2.17565 g
- Fiber 8.00850015044212 g
- Protein 14.17895 g
- Saturated Fat 0.36877 g
- Serving Size 1 1 Serving (202g)
- Sodium 16.691875 mg
- Sugar 29.4855498495579 g
- Trans Fat 0.16827375 g
- Calories 214 calories
Step-by-step
- Heat oil in large pan. Add chopped onions and turn heat down to cook gently for about 5 minutes.
- Add garlic, and saute for another minute.
- Add courgettes and green beans. Turn up the heat and saute, stirring often for about 4 minutes.
- Heat water in a kettle and add to another saucepan. Bring to the boil, and add lentils. Simmer for 15 minutes until mushy. Drain.
- Meanwhile, add rest of ingredients to the vegetables. Stir well. Turn heat up until boiling, and then turn down to a simmer. Stir occasionally, until frozen spinach (if using) has softened, and has heated through. Add lentils to curry, and stir in well, bringing back to a gentle simmer.
- Once vegetables are cooked thoroughly it is ready. Serve with rice or chappatis, or naan bread.
Operating under a strict thirty-minute preparation limit requires precise management of competing pan temperatures, which this method attempts to solve by running the lentil boiling and the vegetable simmering concurrently. Onions demand five minutes of gentle heat in the initial skillet phase to break down their cell walls completely, avoiding the crunchy texture that ruins amateur curries. Rushing this reduction step prevents the aromatics from releasing their natural sugars into the olive oil, leaving the curry paste to taste harsh rather than mellow.
Red lentils require fifteen minutes of boiling until they reach a fully collapsed, mushy consistency that acts as a natural thickener for the tomato base. Rinsing the legumes thoroughly before boiling removes surface starch that otherwise causes excessive foaming in the saucepan. When incorporating the cooked lentils into the vegetable mixture, maintain a gentle simmer for five minutes to ensure the starches integrate evenly without scorching on the bottom of the pan.
Adapting this formulation for different dietary requirements involves simple swaps that preserve the structural integrity of the sauce. Courgettes and green beans hold up well to simmering, but substituting denser root vegetables like diced butternut squash requires par-boiling them for ten minutes to match the rapid cooking window. Store-bought curry pastes vary wildly in sodium content, so reserve the teaspoon of salt until the tomatoes and lentils are fully combined and tasted.
Leftovers stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for up to three days often improve in flavor as the spices permeate the lentils and vegetables. Reheating requires a splash of water in a saucepan over medium-low heat, as the lentil starch continues to absorb liquid during storage and will thicken considerably overnight.
