by Tami Port MS

Created on: July 03, 2009

This recipe makes homemade Indian food accessible to anyone. And don't be put off if you don't like spicy food. You can control the "heat" of this sweet, creamy dish.

* Indian Food That Combines Rich and Healthy *

Light sour cream and plain yogurt make this Garam Masala a creamy delight, while lentils and spinach provide fiber and solid nutrition. This is one of those ethnic entrees that tastes even better with reheating and batches can be frozen for quick future lunches and dinners.

* Some Don't Like It Hot *

If you have always been hesitant to try anything with the word curry in it, you don't need to fear this flavorful Indian dish. The spices in this dish include salt, garam masala, tumeric, cumin, curry and cayenne. By controlling the amount of curry and cayenne, you can determine how spicy the end product is.

Servings: 4

Preparation time: 1 hour (mainly simmering time for flavors to permeate the food)

Ingredients:

* Two 15 oz cans of lentils
* One 16 oz bag of chopped, frozen spinach
* 1 cup of light sour cream
* 1 cup of lowfat plain yogurt
* cup of water
* 1 cups of uncooked jasmine rice
* 1 package of spinach flatbread
* 1 tablespoon of olive oil
* 1 teaspoon of butter

Spices:

* 1 tablespoon of garam masala (spice)
* 1teaspoon of curry
* teaspoon tumeric
* teaspoon cumin
* 1 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
* teaspoon of cayenne powder (more or less to taste)

* Preparation of Lentils and Spinach *

1. Rinse canned lentils and then add lentils, spinach, water and spices to a large sauce pan.
2. Simmer (low heat) for hour.
3. Add yogurt and sour crme.
4. Simmer (low heat) for another hour (or longer if you are not in any hurry)

* Preparation of Rice *

Follow cooking instructions of rice packaging.

If you have no instructions, the typical method of cooking non-instant rice is as follows:

* 1 cup of uncooked rice
* 3 cups of water
* teaspoon of salt (optional)
* 1 teaspoon of butter (optional

1. Combine rice and water in a medium saucepan.
2. Bring to a bold and stirring occasionally.
3. Cover with a tight-fitting lid and simmer for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Remove from heat and let stand 5-10 minutes or longer.

* Preparation of Flatbread *

The bread traditionally served with Indian food is called Naan. If you want a quickie version of this side dish, use flatbread. With this dish, the bread is best served after it has been browed in a skillet with some olive oil.

1. Place a tablespoon of of olive oil in a frying pan and heat.
2. Once the oil is hot, lay the flatbread in the pan and cook until you see pockets of air causing areas of the bread to rise.
3. Flip bread and cook other side.
4. Use pizza cutter to slice bread into wedges.
5. Wrap in foil and keep warm until serving.

* How To Eat This Meal *

Scoop some rice onto a plate and top with the spinach lentil mixture and a dollop of sour cream. Eat by spooning onto slices of flatbread.

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