For years, governments have been imploring their citizens to eat less meat. But when people are asked to eat a little less meat they start panicking and asking questions like “where will I get my protein?” Fear not. Protein doesn’t just come from meat. It’s widely distributed throughout the entire plant kingdom too, meaning that as long as you’re eating enough calories, it’s practically impossible to become deficient. Heck, you can find protein in apples, carrots, spinach and even potatoes.

The best sources of plant protein, however, are legumes – where legume is the term for anything that comes out of a pod. Legumes include peas, beans and, importantly for today’s recipe, lentils.

Curries are becoming ever-more popular: so much so that companies like Under Fine Wraps have had to expand their lines to include more options for curry lovers. But curries don’t just have to be based around meat. Check out this lentil curry bowl recipe with avocado and cashew cream sauce.

Step 1: Make The Cashew Cream Sauce

First off, start making the cashew cream sauce. For the sauce, you’ll need half a cup of fresh coriander, a glove of garlic, 1/3 cup of water, the juice of a couple of limes and ¾ cups of cashew nuts. Put all the ingredients in your Nutribullet or Magimix and blend until smooth.

Step 2: Make The Roasted Carrots

Next, you need to make the roasted carrots. Take 10 carrots, peel them and chop them into chunks. Next grab some garam masala, olive oil, salt and chilli powder and create a rub for the carrots. Toss the carrots in the rub until they are fully coated. Then get some baking paper and line a baking tray. Spread the carrots evenly across the tray and leave them in the oven to roast for 25-30 minutes at 220°C.

image

Step 3: Make The Curry

While the chilli is in the oven, you can start making the curry. First of all, heat a pan on the hob and add some cooking oil. Then throw in the chopped onions and saute for about five minutes until it has gone translucent. Next, lower the heat and add a clove of chopped garlic. Make sure that the garlic doesn’t burn, otherwise you’ll end up with a bitter curry. After another couple of minutes, add a tablespoon of red Thai curry paste, a teaspoon of garam masala and a half teaspoon of cumin seed and leave to cook for a couple of minutes.

Next add a cup of dry, brown lentils, 14 ounces of tomato puree and two cups of vegetable broth. Leave the mixture to simmer in the pan, periodically adding more stock as the lentils soak up the liquid. Wait about 40 minutes for the lentils to cook. They should be soft when they’re done.

Step 4: Add Garnishes

Finally, no curry bowl would be complete without garnishes. Put the carrots in a bowl, add the curry and then drizzle with cashew cream sauce. Finally, add some sprigs of fresh coriander and some sliced avocado. Enjoy!

*affiliate links may be used