This is a stolen recipe. Totally stolen. I didn't come up with it. PUTTING IT OUT THERE.

Deb sent me this recipe in the cutest card ever. EVER. she sent it to me so I would have a variety of ways to use up my roast chicken. (which was just SO fitting because (a) she taught me how to make those chickens and (b) one of my first posts ever was about this curry.)

I didn't just completely hijack this one from her though. I added my own spin on it, just a few tweaks here and there.

aka – I added lentils.

primarily because I had the lentils, I wanted to learn how to cook them, and I wanted to save some of the chicken for the week. sooooo LENTIL PARTY.

Cooking them up was super easy! I just adapted from a few methods I read online and a couple recipes in the thug kitchen cookbook.

This was kind of a big deal for me because I'm totally the girl that gives the side eye to anything that remotely reminds me of beans. I'm slightly confused as to whether or not they really are beans, but what i do know is that they're legumes! They're full of fiber and totally good for you, so you should throw them in there. (if you choose not to, just double the amount of chicken in the recipe – i won't hold it against you).

actually, maybe I will because this was awesome and the lentils won't even bother you in there. I promise.

cross my heart and hope to… die? drink a glass of milk? be force fed salmon?

my tastes are very… singular. (if you got the reference, just know I already hate myself.)

but the lentils aren't the only change I made toooooooo this gloriousness. I also sub-ed in coconut milk in place of regular milk. PHENOM. just doooo it. it's life changing.

also, i'm really struggling with my love-hate relationship with coconut. i can't tell what's going on – i love the flavor but hate the dried stuff you find on candy? I don't understand the world.

I don't think anyone needs a refresher on where I stand with ^ this stuff though.

do you? would you like one? sorry I don't kiss and tell. (jk I do, bacon and I lurrrrve each other – in the best way)

oh. p.s. fair warning – CURRY STAINS EVERYTHING. ugh. be, like, super careful because it's honestly the worst. it stained that spatula (which was BRAND NEW) it stained a towel, it stained my sponger/scrubber thing. I'm just lucky it didn't stain my sink. so try really hard not to get it on your clothes.

don't say I didn't warn you.

oh, oh, oh. AND. i totally served this on zoodles! I'm currently OBSESSED with my sprializer. it's the bomb dot com. i can't even tell you – it's changed my whole life. do you follow Ali on inspiralized? if not, YOU SHOULD. she's so amazing at coming up with ways to use spiralized veggies. I'd totally be down to eat this curry over some spiralized rice from her page.

plus aren't the zucchini noodles so pretty?

When we ate this for dinner, Frankie came into the kitchen (I totally wrote chicken HAHAHA) as I was prepping it and goes “what is that? it looks nasty.” I almost hit him over the head with the pan of curry. He clarified “you have to admit, it doesn't look as good as the stuff you normally make” … does anyone want an ungrateful live-in food tester?

After he ate it he did agree it was delicious… but i'm pretty sure I'm still offering him up “free to a good home.”

Chicken Lentil Curry

Author: Ashley Renee
Prep Time: 20
Cook Time: 20
Total Time: 40 minutes

Scale

Ingredients

for the lentils

3 cups water
1/2 teaspoon bacon fat
1/2 teaspoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon chicken base (or 1/2 chicken bouillon cubes)
1 cup lentils

for the curry

6 slices bacon
1 tablespoon bacon fat
1 cup chopped celery
1 cup chopped onion
3 cloves garlic, minced
2 tablespoons flour
2 teaspoons chicken base (or 2 bouillon cubes)
1 cup water
1 cup coconut milk
1 cup applesauce
1/4 cup tomato paste
4 tablespoons curry powder
2 cups cubed cooked chicken

Instructions

cooking the lentils

Pour the water into a saucepan and ad the bacon fat, curry powder, and chicken base. Bring to a boil and add the lentils. Turn the heat to low and simmer for twenty minutes. Remove from heat, strain the lentils, and set aside.

cooking the curry

In a large skillet, cook the bacon, crumble, and set aside. Leave 1 tablespoon of the bacon fat in the pan and add the celery, onion, and garlic to sauté until transparent (approximately 3-5 minutes). Once the vegetables are transparent, add in the flour and mix to combine.
Meanwhile, dissolve the chicken base (or bouillon cubes) into boiling water.
After the chicken flavoring is dissolved, add the water, coconut milk, applesauce, tomato paste, and curry powder to the skillet with the celery, onion, and garlic. Stir together over medium heat until the mixture begins to bubble. Stir in chicken and lentils until heated through.
Serve over rice or zucchini noodles with your choice of condiments!

Notes

My favorite condiments are the crumbled bacon, peanuts, bananas, and beansprouts!
Deb also suggests chutney, sliced hard boiled eggs, raisins, and shredded coconut.