Vegetarian Thai Curry with Lentils and Chickpeas
⏱ 10 min prep · 🍳 20 min · 🍽 4
Coconut milk, canned tomatoes, lentils, and chickpeas are the kind of pantry staples that pile up in the cupboard without ever turning into an actual dinner plan. This curry pulls them together into something that tastes like more than the sum of its parts: onion and garlic soften in butter with curry paste, then everything else goes in straight from the can or the bag. Twenty minutes on the stove is enough for the lentils to soak up the spice and the sauce to thicken into something closer to a mild dal than a classic Thai curry.
Rice cooks separately, so everyone at the table decides their own sauce-to-rice ratio. Cut the curry paste back to one tablespoon if anyone can't handle heat, and set out extra coconut milk or plain yogurt for whoever wants to cool their own bowl down.
Ingredients
- 1.000 stk løk
- 3.000 fedd hvitløk
- 2.000 ss krydder (diverse)
- 2.000 boks kokosmelk
- 400.000 g tomat
- 2.000 ss smør
- 300.000 g ris
- 150.000 g linser
- 1.000 boks kikerter
- 1.000 stk paprika
- 1.000 ss sukker
- 1.000 stk limeskall
- 1.000 ss soyasaus
Instructions
Varm olje i en kjele og surr løk og hvitløk til de er blanke.
Tilsett karripaste og stek i 1-2 minutter under konstant omrøring.
Hell i kokosmelk og hermetiske tomater.
Tilsett squashterningene og la småkoke i 8-10 minutter.
Kok jasminris etter anvisning på pakken.
Hell av linser og kikerter og tilsett dem i gryten.
Hakk paprika og vårløk og tilsett i kjelen sammen med sukker og limeskall.
La småkoke i 2-3 minutter og smak til med soyasaus.
Server gryten med ris og dryss over grovhakket koriander rett før servering.
This is the curry that survives a house where one kid picks around anything green and another wants every component kept strictly separate on the plate. Lentils and chickpeas soften into the sauce until they're mostly texture, not a vegetable anyone has to negotiate over, and the curry paste is easy to scale back for smaller palates without starting a second pot. It's also one of those dinners that's better the next day — the sauce thickens and the flavors settle overnight, so the lunchbox leftovers often disappear faster than the first serving did. Because everything comes from a can or the pantry shelf, it's the meal you fall back on when the grocery run didn't happen and the fridge is looking thin.
FAQ
Can I freeze this vegetarian Thai curry?
The curry itself freezes well in a sealed container for two to three months. The coconut milk may separate slightly on thawing, but a gentle reheat while stirring brings it back together. Rice doesn't hold up as well frozen in the sauce, so cook a fresh batch for each portion instead.
How spicy is it, and can I make it kid-friendly?
Two tablespoons of curry paste lands this on the mild side, nowhere near a typical restaurant red Thai curry. For younger kids, halve the paste and let adults spike their own bowls with chili flakes or sriracha at the table. A spoon of extra coconut milk or plain yogurt on the side also lets anyone cool their own portion down.
Can I swap the lentils or chickpeas for something else?
Yes — swap either one for whatever's in the pantry; kidney beans or black beans work in the same quantity. Canned lentils and chickpeas just need a rinse and can go straight into the pot. If you use dried lentils instead, pre-cook them until tender first, since the simmer time here isn't long enough to soften them from raw.
How long does it keep in the fridge, and does it work for meal prep?
Plan on three to four days in a sealed container in the fridge. The flavor tends to improve over the first day or two as the lentils keep absorbing the spice, which makes it a solid make-ahead option for busy weeknights. Reheat portion by portion on the stove or in the microwave, stirring in a splash of water or coconut milk if the sauce has thickened too much.
Can I make it without coconut milk if someone can't have it?
Yes — replace the coconut milk with unsweetened oat milk or whole milk and add a little extra butter for richness. The result leans more toward a standard curry than a Thai one, but it still comes out creamy rather than thin. For a thicker sauce, let it simmer uncovered for the last few minutes.
What gets the kids to actually eat the vegetables in it?
Cut the bell pepper into pieces roughly the size of the chickpeas, so it reads less like something to pick out and set aside. Serving the rice and curry separately also helps — kids who build their own bowl often eat more than when everything's pre-mixed. A scatter of toasted cashews on top adds crunch that wins over a surprising number of skeptics.