A vegetarian curry that's also easy to make for vegans, and it won't break the budget.
This lentil and spinach balti is a really lovely comfort meal. It's perfect for evenings when you just want some filling bowl food, but you can't justify a takeaway. Packed with a good portion of green lentils, it's a good source of protein. Then there's also plenty of fresh flavour from the curry paste and coriander. If you're serving to vegans, check the stock and balti paste are both plant-based, and serve with rice instead of naan breads.
This recipe is part of our cheap family meals collection – under £1 a head
Ingredients
- 410g can green lentils, drained
- 380g can leaf spinach, drained
- 400g can chopped tomatoes
- 1 red onion, finely diced
- 2 cloves garlic, crushed
- 2tbsp balti curry paste
- 150ml vegetable stock
- 20g fresh coriander, roughly chopped
- 1 tbsp oil
- Naan bread
- Chutney
WEIGHT CONVERTER
Method
- Heat oil in a wok, or deep sided frying pan. Fry onion until soft, add the garlic and fry for 1 min.
- Stir in curry paste and gently fry for 1 min.
- Stir in tomatoes, stock and lentils, bring to the boil and reduce to a simmer for 10 mins.
- Stir in spinach and gently heat through.
- Remove from heat, stir in coriander.
- Serve with warm naan bread and chutney.
Top tip for making lentil and spinach balti...
You could use your favourite curry powder as an alternative to curry paste if you prefer. This will reduce the cost as well.
Jessica Dady is Food Editor at GoodtoKnow and has over 11 years of experience as a digital editor, specialising in all things food, recipes, and SEO. From the must-buy seasonal food hampers and advent calendars for Christmas to the family-friendly air fryers that’ll make dinner time a breeze, Jessica loves trying and testing various food products to find the best of the best for the busy parents among us. Over the years of working with GoodtoKnow, Jessica has had the privilege of working alongside Future’s Test Kitchen to create exclusive videos - as well as writing, testing, and shooting her own recipes. When she’s not embracing the great outdoors with her family at the weekends, Jessica enjoys baking up a storm in the kitchen with her favourite bakes being chocolate chip cookies, cupcakes, and a tray of gooey chocolate brownies.
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