Spiced Lentil-Coconut Stew

This is the delicious dinner that Bill and I enjoyed tonight. It was so good, I decided to share the recipe with all of you...

The dish is great served over basmati rice...








Spiced Lentil-Coconut Stew

1 Tbspn olive oil
1 small yellow onion, chopped
1 small carrot, thinly sliced on a diagonal
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 small hot chile, seeded and minced
1 tsp peeled and minced fresh ginger
1/2 tsp ground cardamom
1/2 tsp dry mustard
1/4 tsp ground allspice
1/8 tsp turmeric
3 cups vegetable stock or water
1 1/2 cup dried brown lentils, picked over and rinsed
1 large waxy white potato, peeled and diced
2 cups well-washed spinach
1 cup unsweetened coconut milk
salt & freshly ground black pepper

1) Heat the oil in a large saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion, carrot, garlic, chile, and ginger, cover, and cook, stirring occasionally, until softened, about 10 minutes. Stir in the cardamom, mustard, allspice, and turmeric and cook, stirring, for 30 seconds.
2) Pour in the stock, add the lentils and potato, and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to low, cover, and cook until the lentils and vegetables are soft, about 45 minutes. About 10 minutes before the end of the cooking time, stir in the spinach, coconut milk, and salt and pepper to taste; add more stock if the stew is too dry. Serve hot.