â¨1 tablespoon vegetable oil
â¨2 tablespoons curry paste
â¨1 tablespoon curry powder
â¨1 teaspoon ground turmeric
â¨1 teaspoon ground cumin
â¨1 teaspoon chili powder
â¨1 teaspoon white sugar (I never add this)
â¨1 teaspoon minced garlic
1 teaspoon minced fresh ginger
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1.    Wash the lentils in cold water until the water runs clear. Itâs like rinsing rice; you just put them in a bowl and let water run over it. Donât put it in a strainer, youâll think youâre all clever at first but then itâs a pain in the ass to pull out and clean up. Put lentils in a pot with enough water to cover; bring to a boil, place a cover on the pot, reduce heat to medium-low, and simmer, adding water during cooking as needed to keep covered, until tender, 15 to 20 minutes. Drain.
(If you arenât cooking the lentils separately, do or donât rinse them. Technically you should but I donât always.)
2.    Heat vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium heat; cook and stir onions in hot oil until caramelized, about 20 minutes.
3.    Mix curry paste, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, chili powder, salt, sugar, garlic, and ginger together in a large bowl; stir into the onions. Increase heat to high and cook, stirring constantly, until fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.
You should probably add some butter too, a tablespoon or so. Youâll thank me later.
4.    Stir in the tomato puree, remove from heat and stir into the lentils.
Now this recipe has you cooking the lentils separately and then adding in the butter/spice mix, which is tasty. However, Iâll usually skip step one and after step 3 Iâll put in some broth into the mixture, add the lentils then, and let it cook together. I do this because I want to add other tasty things to the mix, like spinach, yams, green beans, whatever sounds good. Okay, sorry, Iâll break it down a little for you.
Add 1 ½ to 2 cups broth per cup of lentils. Bring to boil, then reduce heat to a simmer and cook 20- 30-40 minutes⌠Depending on what youâre adding.
 Sometimes I like to swap out the tomato puree for diced tomatoes. Pour in the whole can, juice and all. You may want to reduce the broth some since you just added all that liquid.
 If youâre adding spinach, kale, or paneer, add it about 10 to 15 minutes before you think it will be done. Adding it too soon will make it all mushy. If you add things like yams, make sure itâs in little cubes. Add the yams, let it cook about 10 minutes then add the broth and lentils and proceed as normal.
If you want your curry more creamy and smooth add some coconut milk and tomato puree, I especially like doing this when I add yams.
If youâre going to add meat things as protein, cook it on the side and then add it in with your lentils and crap.