This creamy lentil curry is one of those one pot wonders! It’s great as a side dish or over rice, but recently we paired it with delicata squash and discovered that lentil squash boats are a keeper! Another go to recipe for meatless Monday!
These also make a great side dish at Thanksgiving or any holiday where you want to substitute stuffing. Since we can’t eat ‘real’ bread, this is a great alternative to stuffing and a whole lot healthier!
We use green lentils for this recipe but brown will work too.
We always reach for organic non-gmo products like coconut oil and this coconut milk.
You can make this recipe in an Instant Pot, but we love our pressure cooker.
Be sure to ‘bloom’ the spices in the oil before adding the rest of the ingredients. It’s will help release the full flavour.
Rinse the lentils well before adding them in.
Coconut milk adds the creamy component.
While that’s cooking, prepare the squash component. If you’ve never tried delicata squash, it’s a must try!
To quicken up cooking time, we add some water to the dish and microwave on full for 5 minutes.
We have a set of these silicone lids; they are indispensable in replacing cling wrap!
After removing from the microwave prick with a fork, brush on melted butter and sprinkle on some brown sugar (we actually substitute brown sugar swerve as we gave up sugar years ago.
Bake at 425F for 20 minutes. If eating the squash alone, we also broil to crisp the top but that’s not really necessary since we’re stuffing the top with the lentil mixture.
This is how we let off steam in our household!
I love the combination of sweet and salty. If you prefer just savoury, then you can always leave the sugar off the squash.
Pin Lentil Squash Boats for Later
Pinning is always welcome and appreciated! Want more great recipes? Subscribe to Birdz of a Feather and check out our recipe category, The Unknown Chef! You can also follow us on Pinterest, Facebook, YouTube and Instagram.
Lentil Boats
Equipment
- Pressure cooker or Instant Pot
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cup green or brown lentils
- 1/2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1 small shallot, finely chopped
- 3 tbsp minced garlic (6 cloves)
- 1 tbsp curry powder, heaping
- 1/2 tbsp brown sugar we use swerve
- 1 tsp salt
- 3/4 tsp turmeric
- 1/8 tsp cayenne use more if you like it spicy
- 1 can light coconut milk 14 ounces
- 2 tbsp lemon juice
- 2 delicata squash Make more if serving more people
- 1/8 cup melted butter
- 2 tsp brown sugar Optional for squash
Instructions
- Turn on burner to med-high to heat. Rinse and drain lentils, set aside. Melt oil in pressure cooker, then add 1 tablespoon water, shallot, ginger and garlic. Cook, stirring often until fragrant; about 2 minutes. Add curry powder, brown sugar, salt, turmeric and cayenne. Stir to combine. Add lentils, coconut milk and 1 cup water. Stir to incorporate.
- Seal the pressure cooker, set to high for 15 minutes (set the timer AFTER the pressure builds). After 15 minutes, naturally release for 10 minutes then vent completely. Open the lid and stir in the lemon juice.
- As lentils cook, cut the squash in half. To cut cooking time, place in glass dish and add some water in the bottom. Cover and microwave in full for 5 minutes. Remove from microwave. Line baking sheet with foil. Set oven or toaster oven to 425. Prick flesh, brush with melted butter and sprinkle with brown sugar. Bake for 20 min.
- Scoop lentil curry into delicata halves and serve. Keeps in fridge up to 5 days. If curry is too thick when reheating after storing, add some water to loosen.