Spiced Lentils with Spinach

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India.

I've never been.

Have you?

I was supposed to go once, but at the time things just didn't work out. (And thank goodness for that. My father took my brother instead and they bonded and went hiking. For weeks. Shudder. Wow is that ever not my idea of a party.)

Actually, its seems like everyone has been but me. I mean, my father goes all the time it seems. World traveler type and all. The Ombudsman went for a few months after college. My sweet aunts even went last year, and took such pretty pictures too. And my darling cousin (I only have three cousins all told, by the way. We are a small family. Close knit and tres international.) he is there as I type. But not as a tourist...he went because he needed to talk to a man about a girl.

See, he asked that girl to marry him, and needed to check in with her father.

And guess what that means peaches? It means I'm going to India! For a wedding! Yea for me.

I am beyond psyched. Oh baby oh baby oh baby. I'm thinking I will wear an orange sari, with my hair down and sort of wavy, and loads of bangles and gold eyeshadow. Am I allowed to wear a sari? Gosh, I hope so. I've always wanted to!

Okay, so, outfit aside, I am extremely over the moon happy for TM and VN and cannot wait to touch down and start eating. Talk about my kinda food. Ooh-eee.

In the mean time, (the wedding isn't until late summer or early fall...they are consulting with an astrologer for an exact date...) I made this the other night...it's warm and hearty and filling and divine.

Try it my peaches, and taste the joy.

1 1/2 cups dried brown lentils
5 garlic cloves, peeled
1 cup fresh cilantro
3 tbsp vegetable oil
3 tbsp ground coriander
6 cups vegetable broth
1/2 tbsp salt
6 cups fresh spinach leaves, finely chopped
1/2 cup small shapes of dried pasta (I used orzo)
Plain yogurt for garnish (optional)

Put the lentils in a bowl, cover with cold water and leave to soak for 30 minutes.

While they are soaking, put the garlic, cilantro leaves and stems in a food processor and process to a paste.


Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat. Add the garlic and cilantro paste and gently fry until it is browned all over. Stir in the ground coriander. Add the stock to the pan. Drain the soaked lentils and add them to the pan. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover the pan and simmer for about 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender.


Season the broth and add the spinach and pasta. Bring back to the boil. Cover the pan, reduce the heat and simmer for a further 10 minutes, or until the pasta is tender. Ladle the soup into warmed bowls to serve.

Garnish with optional yogurt

Makes 8 - 1o hearty servings



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This isn't actually an Indian recipe...it's a variation on a Lebanese Rishta (lentils with pasta).

Coriander is mentioned as an aphrodisiac in The Tales of the Arabian Nights.

"Every good wine is someone's passion, which makes each bottle a work of art." - WSJ.com

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