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This Coconut Potato Curry with Lentils is creamy, flavorful, and delicious. Perfect to cozy up with on a cold winter day. Not only that but this is a vegan and gluten-free coconut curry. Meaning no animal products or gluten was used to make this delicious bowl of spicy coconut, potato, and lentil soup.
So let’s talk Curry…
When I think of curry, I think of warm bowls of creamy orange spiced meat, potatoes, or even creamy soups. Usually, when I go to cook curry for dinner, it’s because I want something cozy and spicy. But exactly what is curry? I said I think of orange spiced meat, potatoes, or even creamy spicy soups… but that’s a lot of things…
According to Bon Appetit writer Alex Delaney, Curry “doesn’t refer to a stew, or a sauce, contrary to popular opinion. In fact, in so many countries, it was a word popularized by colonizers to simplify what they saw as foreign cuisines”. Ooof, that definition of curry puts it into a new context.
Admittedly, I’ve never even realized I used “curry” so loosely. Perhaps a better term for this recipe is Spiced Coconut Lentil and Potato Soup. This brings me into another discussion for another day… naming recipes is such a curious thing.
This Coconut Potato Curry is easy to make. As a registered dietitian with celiac disease, I am a lazy cook. Celiac means I make my meals a lot more often than other people, so I appreciate simplicity, easy clean-up, and using minimal ingredients when cooking.
That’s why not only is the Coconut Potato Curry with Lentils almost a “dump” and go recipe BUT it also only requires one pot. Do you hear that? It’s a gluten-free one-dish meal… music to my ears!
Though if you choose to have rice on the side, you may have to dirty one other pot, I’d say the potatoes in the Coconut Curry with Lentils add enough delicious carbs to fill you up. Do what you think will leave you the most satisfied though! There’s something comforting about curry over rice…
Curries like this Coconut Potato Curry with Lentils are not always vegan or gluten-free. Often equal parts of butter and wheat flour are used to create what’s known as a “roux” to create a thick base.
Roux’s can be made with other types of flour and cooking fats but we’re skipping the roux altogether in this recipe. Don’t worry though, this one-pot curry will still be thick and creamy thanks to the starch of the potato, the lentils, and the coconut milk.
The other thing we need to talk about is the lentils. Lentils are naturally gluten-free but can be easily contaminated with gluten-containing grains. It’s important when preparing lentils to be gluten-free that you’re either buying certified gluten-free lentils (which will sport a higher price tag) or you’re pouring your lentils out on a pan and removing contaminants and then rinsing them thoroughly before preparing. Do what is appropriate for you and why you’re gluten-free.
Lastly, pairing the lentils with the potatoes helps form a complete protein. While technically white potatoes contain all of the essential amino acids (yeah, I was shocked when I learned that too), they are low in the amino acids that lentils can help provide, thus creating a meal with a good supply of all the essential amino acids. An amazing feature if you’re plant-based.
We’re almost to the Coconut Potato Curry recipe, but before we make let’s talk about how to enjoy this one-pot coconut curry.
Okay, now that we know what curry is, how to make this coconut potato curry, what the ingredients do, and how to enjoy it, let’s dive into the recipe!
