Pumpkin and Red Lentil Curry

[Pam Campbell]

I saw this recipe and decided I wanted to try it. I bought the pumpkin at the local farmers market. The rest of the ingredients I had on hand.

The most difficult part of this recipe was cutting & peeling the pumpkin. The stew went together easily and smelled really good cooking. I served it as a main dish stew. The flavors blended well and it was really very nice. For those of you that like more heat I would suggest adding more jalapeno as the one I added could be tasted but more as a very background flavor. It was not hot at all.

I have added this to my repeat list and will be doing it again soon. :D

Editing this to say that I wish I were as eloquent as many of you in reviewing a recipe!!! ;)

[Grace]

Your review is great! Thank you so much. Is this from the October issue? I think it was - if it was, it piqued my interest so I'm glad to see a good review. If it's not from the October issue (and I am confusing it with another recipe I thought I saw), could you tell us where it's from? Thanks again. I will put it on my to try list for October.

[Pam Campbell]

It's in the October issue of CL. I had the left overs at lunch today and it did heat up a little overnight...not a lot though!

[sarah jane2]

I made this tonight for dinner. I substituted canned pumpkin versus peeling and chopping (definitely do not have the time for that right now!) and served it over rice. It is a good, solid recipe, but not a repeater in my house.

[Kyra]

I made this for dinner tonight. I agree with Pam, dealing with the pumpkin was the hardest part (and I have a bandaid on my thumb to prove it). I thought it looked and smelled great, but was not blown away by the taste. I will try it again tomorrow after it sits overnight and let you know if it improves.

My changes:

-I added 1/2 tsp of whole cumin seeds to the oil and onion at the beginning
-I added some fresh grated ginger with the garlic and spices
-I added some garam masala to the spice mix
-I didn't have a jalepeno
-I used three BIG cloves of garlic

There was nothing wrong with it, and I love the red lentils, but it was just a little blah or bland to my tastebuds. A little extra salt, pepper, and LOTS of cilantro added to my bowl improved things. I served this over basmati rice. Next time I would add more tomatoes, partly for color, and also because I felt it could use a little more acidity. (Although, I'm not sure I will make it again.) DH thought I should try it with butternut squash or another type of squash; the pumpkin was pleasant, but very mild tasting.

I'll check in tomorrow and let you know how it aged overnight...

[tholbrook]

I finally got around to making this last night, and despite having reservations about how it was going to turn out, I really enjoyed it. I increased the spices by half, and used a habanero pepper instead of jalapeno, so it was plenty spicy. The only thing that I didn't like about the curry was that the pumpkin disappeared into the other flavors. But along with the red lentils, it made the dish a lovely orange color! The overall verdict: I would make this again with the same changes I made this time.

[mmbedard]

I previously made this dish as part of an Indian dinner feast and we quite enjoyed it. I did, however, use butternut squash instead of the pumpkin. BTW, it also freezes nicely!