Curried Chickpeas & Dahl (Lentils) with Cucumber Raita

I love curry. The smell of toasting curry powder, cinnamon, turmeric, cumin, and other spices is incredibly comforting to me. Some people might think that making curry is super complicated, but that's totally not the case! Cooking something is as hard as you make it, and if you look for easy recipes that are big on flavor, then it's a win-win situation. Even better, if you can make your own version of Indian take-out without leaving the house, you know exactly what's going into it, and you can brag to anyone who will listen about how awesome you are at making ethnic food! Plus, there's no need to tip a driver to deliver the food to you!

I've recently been going through a phase of trying out vegetarian recipes, and some of the best recipes I've found are on PETA's website, of all places! This recipe for curried chickpeas and dahl (red lentils) is super delicious, but I still ended up tweaking the recipe a bit. I add cinnamon and turmeric, for instance, and also added a little more acidity with some white vinegar and Tabasco. The original recipe can be found using the link on this page, and my version is also located here. Just like at an Indian restaurant, I also made some cucumber raita, a traditional cucumber-yogurt sauce, to go with it. This is a pretty big recipe, so feel free to halve it, or double it if you need to feed a large crowd! Who says you can't have a straight up delicious, meat-free curry meal without going to a restaurant?

Curried Chickpeas and Dahl

1/2 white onion, diced

1 green pepper, rinsed and diced

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons curry powder

1 1/2 teaspoons cumin

1/4 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon crushed red pepper flakes

1/2 teaspoon turmeric

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1 (15 oz.) can diced tomatoes

1 (15 oz.) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 1/2 cups red lentils

2 1/4 cups water

juice of 1 orange (I used Navel)

1 tablespoon white vinegar

Hot sauce, to taste

In a large pot, heat 1 tablespoon vegetable oil over medium heat. Add the onion, green pepper, and garlic and cook until soft. Add all the spices and season with salt; cook for 1 minute. Add the tomatoes, chickpeas, lentils, water, orange juice, vinegar, and hot sauce and simmer until the lentils are very tender. Season again with salt, if needed, and serve over brown rice with the raita and naan bread. Yum!!

Cucumber Raita

1/2 medium cucumber, washed and grated

1 (6 oz.) container Fage 0% greek-style yogurt, or any other greek yogurt brand

juice of 1 lemon

1 tablespoon water

1/4 teaspoon cumin

salt, to taste

First, squeeze as much liquid out of the grated cucumber as possible, using a couple paper towels. Place the drained cucumber in a bowl and mix in the yogurt, lemon juice, and cumin and season with salt to taste. Chill until ready to serve.