Hurry, Curry! (Lentil Dip)

I love hummus, don't get me wrong, but sometimes I find it boring. And sometimes I find that we have no cooked, soaked garbanzos. Or worse, no garbanzos at all.

So, what's a vegan yogini with a GF husband to do?

Improvise.

Introducing a flavorful dip that is just a bit different from anything else (and the only recipe I will EVER write that contains "curry powder".

1 cup dry lentils (any brown, green, or black variety will do, just not the dainty red lentils).

1 vegan Not-Chik-n bouillon cube

2 cups water

1 bay leaf

1 T toasted sesame seed oil

1-2 t curry powder (depending on your taste) salt to taste

additional water

1. Cook the lentils in the water, bouillon and bay leaf in a covered pot over low/medium heat. They should get mushy, so between 20-30 minutes should be perfect. You may need to add additional water if the lentils are still not mushy but the water has evaporated. I have mistakenly made burned lentil patty this way, and there's a reason that isn't the featured recipe.

2. Discard bay leaf and pour contents of pot into a food processor. Add oil, salt, and curry powder. Pure like the dickens. Thin with water as necessary to achieve a "dip" texture to your liking.

3. Serve with corn chips, rice crackers, or crudite. Great for a pot luck, but be sure to label it so people aren't horribly surprised when it isn't guacamole.

Easy. Delicious. Nearly impossible to mess up, unless you let the water boil off of the lentils or puree the spatula with the dip (Someone in our house who still owes me a new spatula may have also done this once).