Lentil Vegetable Stew

👨‍🍳 Method

For the Fried onion

1. 1
   Heat the olive oil in a large pot over medium heat.

   ⚙ Pan-fryingStoveLarge pot
2. 2
   Add the onion and fry 5 minutes, stirring now and then, until the onion is soft and translucent and starts to turn golden at the edges. If it browns too fast, lower the heat.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Add by cooking time: what needs long (onion, carrot, meat) goes in first, and what burns fast (garlic, dry spices) goes in last, only until fragrant.
3. 3
   Add the garlic and fry about 30 seconds to 1 minute, just until fragrant. Don't let the garlic brown.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove

   💡Garlic burns quickly and turns bitter. Add it only after the onion has softened, over medium heat, and add the next ingredient as soon as it smells fragrant.

To assemble

1. 4
   Add the carrot and fry 3 minutes.

   ⚙ Adding to the hot fat and fryingStove
2. 5
   Add the cumin, turmeric, paprika, salt and black pepper and stir.
3. 6
   Add the tomatoes, lentils and water and bring to a boil.

   Stove
4. 7
   Turn down the heat, cover and simmer 25 minutes, until the lentils are tender.

   ⚙ SimmeringStoveLid

   💡A gentle simmer, not a boil: a hard boil dries the food out and clouds it, a slow simmer cooks it evenly.
5. 8
   Add the spinach and cook another 3 minutes.

   Stove
6. 9
   Add the lemon juice and stir.
7. 10
   Sprinkle the cilantro on top.
8. 11
   Serve the stew hot with pita bread.