Vegetarian curry a healthy option

We are trying to have a meatless and fishless meal at least once a week. For that, I turned to a friend who is vegetarian and who shared this recipe.

We are trying to reduce our consumption of meat and fish, not only for health reasons but also for environmental reasons. According to recent studies, "we are risking the sustainability of the whole system. If we are interested in people being able to eat and produce, we have to reduce our meat consumption," said Marco Springmann, the researcher and Oxford University professor who led the study published in the scientific journal Nature.

"We are risking the sustainability of the whole system."

Besides the environmental issue, the question of our health also weighed on the decision. So at least once a week we do the two meals of the day without meat and fish.

This time we decided to try the recipe that was shared by a friend who is vegetarian and who has been helping us to adapt to vegetarian food.

The best way to adapt to vegetarian dishes is to start with flavours we are already used to and then try other more specific flavours.

So, we started with this Lentil Curry with Vegetables, which is simple to make and very tasty.

Let's get to the recipe

Ingredients:

1 cup of green lentils or a can of lentils

200g broccoli and cauliflower (sprigs)

1 onion

2 cloves garlic

Olive oil to taste

1 teaspoon curry powder

1 teaspoon turmeric

1 teaspoon cumin

2 cardamom seeds (optional)

1 1/2 cups of water

1 teaspoon sea salt

1/2 can (200 ml) coconut milk (or soy cream)

1 green bell pepper strip

1 strip red bell pepper

1 cm grated fresh ginger (optional)

1 small chilli pepper or cayenne pepper to taste (optional)

Preparation:

Place the lentils in a bowl of water and leave to soak while you prepare the vegetables. If you use canned lentils you do not need to do this step.

Wash and separate the broccoli and cauliflower into small sprigs. Chop the onion and garlic.

Heat a large frying pan with a drizzle of olive oil. Saute the garlic and onion until translucent and soft. Add the curry, saffron, cumin, and crushed cardamom seeds. Saute for a minute, stirring so that the spices release their aromas.

Add the drained lentils, the water, the sprigs of broccoli and cauliflower, and season with salt. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Mix in the coconut milk or cream, the chopped peppers, and the ginger. If you like spicy flavours add, also, a chilli pepper, opened and without seeds, or the cayenne pepper. Boil for 2 to 3 minutes and turn off the heat. Serve with basmati rice and a multicoloured salad.

These are strong and intense flavours, but very tasty!