Curried Lentils with Bacon & Browned Cabbage

5 from 2 votes

Curried Lentils with Bacon & Browned Cabbage

Healthy dish of curried lentils with bacon and browned cabbage makes a great side dish as well as an easy main dish. You can easily make it vegetarian, too. Perfect served with garlic naan and a salad. Cooking options include slow cooker, stove top, or Instant Pot.

Prep Time15

Cook Time50

Total Time1 5

Course: Main Dish

Cuisine: Indian

Servings: servings

Calories: 89.51kcal

Author: Jami Boys

Equipment

Slow cooker OR Instant Pot OR Stock pot
Cutting board and chef's knife

Ingredients

Lentils

1-1/4 cups brown lentils, rinsed and picked over as needed
4 cups water or chicken broth
1 to 1-1/2 teaspoons curry powder (use the smaller amount with a hot curry, larger amount if mild)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1 teaspoon cumin
2 teaspoon salt, less if using a salted chicken broth instead of water
1 teaspoon black pepper
1/2 to 1 teaspoon red pepper flakes, or to taste

Bacon Browned Cabbage

4 pieces bacon*
1 onion, chopped
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 cups roughly chopped cabbage (about 1/4 large head)

Topping

1 or 2 tomatoes, diced
Chopped parsley or chives garnish, optional
yogurt, optional

Instructions

Cook Lentils:

Slow Cooker Method:
Add all lentil ingredients to the bowl of a slow cooker, stirring to mix. Cook on Low for 4 hours or High for 2 hours until most of the liquid evaporates.
Stove Top Method:
Add all lentil ingredients to a large stockpot, stir and bring to a boil. Reduce heat and simmer on medium-low heat, covered, for 40-50 minutes, until lentils are done.
Instant Pot Method:
Add all lentil ingredients to the Instant Pot insert. Secure the lid, select Manual button and set for 10 minutes on high pressure (will take about 15 minutes to come up to pressure). Natural pressure release for 5 minutes and then turn to quick release pressure. Open and continue with the recipe.

Cook Cabbage:

In a large skillet cook bacon until crisp (if using); drain on paper towels, crumble and set aside.
Saute chopped onion in bacon grease(or oil of choice) over medium heat 3-5 minutes. Add garlic and cabbage. Raise heat to medium-high and cook 3-5 minutes to brown cabbage.
Reduce heat to low, cover and cook until cabbage is tender, about 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add a couple tablespoons of water towards the end of cooking to deglaze the pan.

To Serve:

Scrape the vegetables into the lentil pot and stir well to combine. Season to taste with more salt and pepper, as desired.
Top lentil mixture with chopped tomatoes, crumbled bacon if using, and optional chives or parsley for garnish. Serve with yogurt and flatbread.

Notes

*To make this dish vegetarian, omit the bacon and brown the cabbage in coconut, avocado, or olive oil. Proceed with the rest of the recipe.

Store leftovers in sealed container for up to a week in the fridge - the flavors continue to develop!

Nutrition