Roti Canai is a delicious flat bread that is best served with a coconut based dip or curry. This recipe is a shortcut Malaysian inspired red lentil coconut curry that has all the tasty richness of a coconut dipping sauce that you would eat your roti with. It is savoury, so flavourful, and easy to make. Of course to make this recipe more authentic, you can use homemade red curry paste but I am opting for a store bought version that is widely available grocery stores everywhere. This recipe is a short cut because it does not require any chopping of veggies or aromatics and relies on the flavours from the coconut milk, dry spices, and the curry paste to carry the dish and let me tell you, it does.
Malaysian Inspired Red Lentil Coconut Curry
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups dry red lentils
- 2-3 tablespoons Red Thai Curry Paste Blue Dragon Brand
- 1 can of coconut milk 400 ml
- 1 teaspoon Kashmiri chili powder
- 1/2 teaspoon turmeric
- 2 teaspoon garam masala divided
- 1/2 tablespoon ghee
- 1/2 tablespoon of fish sauce + more to taste
- 1/2 teaspoon granulated sugar
- salt as needed
Instructions
- Place lentils in a fine mesh sieve and rinse.
- Place lentils in a pot, cover with water and boil until tender, should take about 20 minutes. Make sure the put is large enough to add other ingredients into it. When lentils are tender, set aside and make sure they still have a decent amount of water in them. Add more water if necessary. You want it to be a thick soup consistency.
- In a separate pan add a can of coconut milk and on medium heat, reduce stirring constantly until coconut milk is reduced my at least half. Depending on the brand of coconut milk, it may be thicker or thinner. Allow the coconut fats that have separated to melt in pan, and stir the whole time.
- Add your Thai red curry paste to your pan of coconut milk and stir periodically, cooking on low to medium until you see oil start to separate from the coconut curry mixture. You will see red oil bubbling on top.
- Add spices to your thickened curry mixture, Kashmiri chili power, 1 teaspoon of garam masala, and turmeric.
- Remove thickened coconut spice mixture from heat and add to your cooked lentils.
- Mix your curry mixture in until well combined.
- Add fish sauce and sugar to your lentils and thin out with water if needed. You want a soup consistency but this is personal preference. Simmer for 10 minutes stirring consistently and watching the water level of the curry, adding more as necessary. Mix in your ghee for added richness if you want. Taste and adjust for salt if necessary.
- Add the rest of your garam masala (remaining 1 teaspoon) and mix in.
- Serve with hot Roti Canai.
Notes
Note: If using another brand of That red curry paste that is thicker and more concentrated, use only 1 tablespoon up to 1 1/2 tablespoons. Example of another widely available brand is Thai Kitchen
