Easy Potato-Lentil Curry

Potatoes and mung beans simmered in a tangy tomato sauce. Simple, nutritious, one-pot dish, tastes amazing when steamed over white or brown rice, rice noodles or served with your favorite flat bread. It is the perfect mid-week meal to satisfy all your spice cravings. I make this when I want something quick as well as comforting.

Serves 4

1/4 cup mung beans (yellow split lentils)

3 medium size golden potatoes, washed thoroughly and cubed

1 tsp oil

1/2 tsp ground turmeric

2 tsp coriander seeds

1/4 tsp fennel seeds

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1 tsp ground cayenne or chili powder (use quantity according to your spice preference)

1 14 oz can diced tomatoes 

3 cloves of garlic, minced 

2 tsp garam masala

1/2 cup fresh cilantro, finely chopped 

Salt, to taste 

Directions
1. Heat the Instant Pot, add a tsp of oil, cumin seeds, fennel seeds, and coriander seeds. Keep stirring while they get start to sizzle and get toasted, for about 1 minute

2. Once the seeds starts to sizzle, add garlic and the can of diced tomatoes.

3. Add ground turmeric, ground cayenne/chili powder, and salt and let it simmer on medium heat for about 7 minutes, stirring often, while mashing the tomatoes with the back of a spoon

4. Reduce heat, add the washed uncooked mung beans and toast them for 2 minutes, stirring continuously

5. Add the potatoes, 2 cups of water, cover and pressure cook for about 7-8 minutes. The lentils should be cooked through and the potatoes should be cooked thoroughly and falling apart.

6. Add 2 tsp garam masala, stir well, simmer for a minute on medium heat.

7. Turn off heat, check seasoning, add fresh cilantro and serve hot .

*If you don’t use a pressure cooker, follow the same method but it is a good idea to cook the mung beans first and keep it ready before proceeding with the recipe. Just wash them, add them to a sauce pan with enough water to cover them and bring them to a boil. Reduce heat and let them simmer on medium heat until they are soft and cooked through. Then proceed with the recipe as mentioned above. You may need to cook the potatoes longer if you are not using the Instant Pot/pressure cooker.

*The mung beans can be replaced by masoor (pink lentils). Masoor cooks faster. If you are going to use masoor/pink lentils, you can cook them directly in a pot along with the potatoes. Pre-cooking them won’t be necessary. Also, since they cook faster, you will need to adjust the cooking time if you are using a pressure cooker

*If the curry is too thick, add some hot water and simmer for 5 more minutes

*If the curry is too runny, mash a few spoons of mung beans & potato cubes and simmer for a few minutes