Indian Red Lentil Curry

Lentils are a common food on the Indian subcontinent. Recipes vary, but this dish is generally made without meat. "Red" lentils, called "masoor dal," are typically orange, so don't ask me why they're called "red lentils," but they change color when cooked, to a somewhat "yellowish" color. Red lentils are generally available in supermarkets, Indian/Pakistani shops or Middle Eastern stores. This is an easy dish to prepare and the cooking time is not long, as soaking the lentils helps, but red lentils cook pretty quickly. I chose to serve my lentils in a bowl, but I just as easily could have used a plate. 

Ingredients:

1 cup red lentils
1 vegetable broth (more, if the mixture gets too dry as it cooks)
1 medium onion, chopped
4 cloves of garlic, chopped
1 1/2 inch piece ginger, peeled and chopped
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon ground turmeric
1 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 or 2 chili peppers (red or green), finely chopped
1 tablespoon curry powder
1/2 teaspoon ground cloves
1/2 to 1 teaspoon salt
1  14 to 15 ounce can diced tomatoes with juice
1 tablespoon butter 
good pinch of sugar

Soak the lentils for 25 to 30 minutes in cold water. Drain the lentils. In a sauce pan over medium heat, add the oil, when heated, add the onion and the ginger. Cook for about 2 minutes, then add the garlic and the chili pepper. Stir and cook for another minute, then stir in the turmeric, cumin and ground coriander. Add the red lentils, stir to mix well. Add the vegetable broth and stir. Cook until the lentils are to the desired softness your prefer. Stir in the tomatoes, curry powder, ground cloves, salt and sugar, mix well and heat for a further minute or two. Add the butter and stir it in as it melts. Serve with rice. 

WORD HISTORY:
Lentil/Lens-The origin of this word is unknown, although forms appear in parts of the Indo European languages (Germanic, Slavic, Greek, Latin), but several sources note that it may have been borrowed into Indo European from a language of the eastern Mediterranean area of which little is known. Its known history goes to Latin "lens," which was the name of the plant that produced lentils, as well as the name for the seed/pea/bean of that plant, which is a legume. The beans/peas/seeds of legumes are often also called a "pulse," a term not all that common in American English and seemingly unrelated to "pulse," meaning "heartbeat," as the same spelling is coincidental. Latin "lens" produced the diminutive form "lenticula," which passed into Latin-based Old French as "lentille," and this was borrowed by English in the 1200s. The shape of lentils gave the original Latin word, "lens," the secondary meaning of "glass that alters light rays, glass/glasses used to improve eyesight," and this was borrowed by English in the second half of the 1600s (Latin was often used in scientific and medical terminology). The meaning further came to include the curved part of the eye by circa 1700. German has "Linse" which has both meanings, "lentil" and "lens," with the second meaning coming from Latin, but where German got the original word, which goes back to before 800 AD, is unknown, although the spelling leads me to believe it was borrowed from Latin.