Polenta is made from ground corn. It is easy to prepare and is quite filling. It can be enjoyed with a wide variety of dishes. It can be had in place of pasta or rice. I have already shared breakfast polenta with dry fruits and polenta upma, so polenta is not new for those who follow Padhuskitchen regularly. Check my breakfast polenta recipe to know more about polenta. Today I am sharing an Indian style red lentil gravy to pair with polenta. It was awesome and very filling. Now to the recipe-
Polenta with Lentils-Indian Style
Prep Time : 10 mins
Cook Time : 25 mins
Serves: 2
Recipe Category: Lunch-Polenta
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar
Serves: 2
Recipe Category: Lunch-Polenta
Recipe Cuisine: Indian
Author:Padhu Sankar
Ingredients needed
For Polenta
Polenta – 1/2 cup (quick-cooking polenta)
Water – 2 cups
Salt needed
Cheese – 3 tbsp grated or as needed (preferable Parmesan)
For the Lentil sauce/gravy
Onion – 1/2 cup finely chopped
Garlic – 2-3 cloves
Carrot – 1/3 cup
Tomatoes – 1/2 cup chopped
Tomatoes – 3 ripe ones (blanched and pureed)
Bell Pepper/capsicum – 1/3 cup
Red Lentils/masoor dal – 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Chilli Powder or pepper powder to taste
For Garnishing
Coriander leaves – 2 tbsp finely chopped
Preparation
Blanch 3 tomatoes, remove the skin and blend it to a puree. Keep it aside.
Chop carrots into medium sized pieces and onions finely. Slice capsicum thinly.
Cook red lentils until soft. Mash it well and keep it aside. You can also pressure cook lentils.
Method
Heat oil in a pan, add finely chopped garlic and onions. Saute until onions turn transparent.
Add chopped carrots and cook for a few minutes.
Add chopped tomatoes, chilli powder and salt needed. Cook until tomato softens.
Add tomato puree and thinly sliced capsicum. Cook until the mixture thickens stirring from time to time.
Add cooked red lentils/masoor dal, 3/4 cup of water and cook on low heat, stirring in between for 5-6 minutes. Garnish with finely chopped coriander leaves.
Now our lentil stew is ready. We will cook the polenta. Polenta will be ready in a jiffy as I have used the quick cooking polenta.
Preparing Polenta
Bring 2 cups of water to boil. Add salt needed. As we will be adding cheese, add less salt.
Reduce the heat to low and stir in polenta gradually with one hand and stir continuously with a whisk with the other hand. This is done to prevent lumps.
Continue to stir. When it starts thickening, turn off the heat and add grated cheeses or a blob of butter or both. Mix well until smooth. Polenta is ready now.
Polenta will thicken as it cools. If you want a smooth consistency, you may add a little warm water to loosen it.
Serve hot polenta topped with piping hot lentil stew. Enjoy!!
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seems delicious and easy too 🙂 thanks for the step by step tutorial.
Hi i got inspiration from the above recipe and i made polenta upma just like normal rava upma with frozen sweet corn and peas. it is one of the favourites amongst my children. thanks