4cups of carrots, peeled and sliced (about 1 1/2 pound)
2 Tbsp. tomato paste
1 tsp. date paste (or another liquid sweetener)
1cup of dry green lentils, rinsed
3cups of vegetable broth
1/2 a cup of fresh mint leaves, chopped or torn
Instructions
Break the coriander seeds using the handle of a knife, a mortar, and pestle, or by spice grinder. Break the seeds into pieces. Don't pulverize them into powder.
Pre-heat a medium pot over medium heat. Then add the onions and coriander seeds. Sauté the onions for 5 minutes until they soften and become translucent.
Stir in the carrots and garlic. Cook the carrots for 3 minutes. If the onions begin to stick, add water or broth a tablespoon at-a-time.
Make a space in the bottom of the pot and add the tomato paste and date paste and mix the two. Stir the mixture into the rest of the ingredients.
Add the lentils and vegetable broth. Bring the ingredients to a low boil, then decrease the heat until the ingredients are slowly simmering. You can cover or leave the pot uncovered and continue cooking until the lentils are tender and the broth is absorbed.
Once the lentils are done, remove the pot from the heat, then mix in half the mint. Use the remaining mint to garnish individual servings.
You can serve this with rice, quinoa, bulgur, or another grain of choice.
Notes
It is best to use green or brown lentils for this recipe. Red lentils will break down so that the texture more like creamed carrots.
Coriander seeds have an entirely different flavor than fresh cilantro or coriander. If you want to substitute for coriander seeds, use 1 teaspoon of ground coriander. You will miss out on the crunch of the broken seeds, but this will retain most of the intended flavor.
This dish will keep in the refrigerator for up to 5 days. You can also freeze it.