I’ve posted the recipe for butter chicken before. The only difference this time was that I actually used a purchased Garam Masala blend from Penzey’s. It saves a bit of work but I think the Cooking Light mix is quite good.

Second up was this Chana Masala (Chickpea Curry) recipe I found online.  I had no mustard seeds so just skipped that. I skipped the red chili pepper as well.   I used canned garbanzo beans and just simmered them with everything a bit longer.

Third was this lentil and potato curry with coconut milk. I added the extra butter and made a quick yogurt and cucumber raita to go with everything.  I don’t think I measured anything. Probably half a cup or so of yogurt (it was already thick so I didn’t drain it), half a cucumber, seeded and grated, and some salt.  I saw a recipe somewhere that added some grated radish to this that sounded good but I had no radishes. Maybe next time.

Everyone loved it, vegetarians and meat eaters. Should have doubled the recipe I think as there was not a spoonful left over! So I’ll blame that as the reason I went and grabbed a Subway veggie sandwich at lunch. No good leftovers!

• 1 cup brown lentils
• 3 1/2 cups liquid (I used 1 can of coconut milk topped with 1 1/2 cups water. You could use all water, some vegetable broth, or chicken broth if you’re not doing vegetarian)
• 1 Tbs curry powder
• 2-3 potatoes, peeled and cubed
• salt and pepper to taste
• plain yogurt and fresh cilantro

Rinse the lentils. Heat the lentils, liquid of choice, and curry powder to a simmer, stir, cover partially and cook 15 minutes. Stir now and then.

Add the cubed potatoes and stir in, then cover the pan completely  and cook 10 minutes or so, depending on how large the potato cubes are. If the lentils start to look too dry, add some more water. You don’t want them soupy but they should be moist.

Add salt and pepper to taste and cook another 10 minutes or so. Serve with yogurt and cilantro.

Variation: Add 2 Tbs butter when you add the potatoes.

Rachel Ray contributed the curry powder and the mango chutney. Jacques Pepin contributed the coconut milk and curry paste. (Yep, I did both curry powder and curry paste.)

This served 2 adults with one huge lunch portion for leftovers, so call it 3-4 servings.

2 Tbs oil
4-6 chicken tenders (maybe a pound altogether)
1/2 an onion, cut in half and then sliced
2 cloves garlic, minced or pressed
salt and pepper to taste
2 tsp curry powder
1 12-14 ounce can of unsweetened coconut milk
1-2 tsp curry paste
1 can diced tomatoes since I didn’t have fresh ones handy
1 Tbs dried basil (would be better with 1/4 cup fresh)
Major Grey’s mango chutney on the side

Start your rice cooking. For 3-4 people, I usually use 1 cup rice and 2 cups water, plus 1/2 tsp of salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer, cover and cook 20-25 minutes. If it gets done before the curry is done just turn the heat off and let it sit a bit.

Heat the oil in a pan at a medium heat.

Cut the chicken into bite size pieces. Obviously you could use pretty much any boneless chicken parts. I’d just bought a bag of chicken tenders by mistake so that’s what I used.

Add the onion and garlic to the heated oil and cook for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently.
Salt and pepper to taste. Stir in the curry powder and cook another minute.

Add the coconut milk and stir, then stir in the curry paste. (You can use red or green curry paste, depending on how hot you like it. Red works for me.) Cook another few minutes, stirring.

Add the chicken and cook at a simmer until the chicken is done, about 4-5 minutes. Add the tomatoes and cook till heated through. Alternately, you could add peas or bamboo shoots or…. Stir in the basil.

Rachel Ray had you mix in the chutney. I prefer to serve it on the side. It adds a nice sweet counterpoint to the potentially spicy curry, but serving it on the side lets everyone control their own meal.