vegan Strawberry, Tomato and Puy Lentil Curry

Yes, we have had Rhubarb Curry, 

Watermelon Curry, 

Peach Curry, 

and now we have Strawberry Curry.  

Strawberries in a savoury dish?!  Its actually not as terrible as you may think.  Imagine a strawberry a bit like a cherry tomato.  Its not always sweet, sometimes sharp too or sometimes both.

This is a very red curry from the tomato base, red pepper and of course the strawberries.  I made this curry a few weeks back when strawberries from my garden were abundant.  

On a different note, I'd like to share with you something that happened quite recently, I had an international company that produces tinned tomatoes worldwide contact me wanting to send me a couple of tins of tomatoes to play with and develop a  recipe for them as they were impressed by my tomato based recipes.  Okay I thought nothing wrong with that, as the quality and flavour of tinned tomatoes can vary, but before accepting I noted that this brand  had been in touch with other bloggers and had recompensed them financially.

As a  way to test the waters and the idea of making money from my blog, a thought that has crossed my mind a few times, but I have never pursued it in my many years of blogging.  I responded back that I was happy to do this, but they must appreciate having worked with other food bloggers that creating a recipe means additional cost of ingredients, then photographing and then blogging all takes time and I wondered if they would recompense me.  Its not a surprise at all but they never came back to me.  Something like this happened to me early in this year, when I was invited to attend a cookery class as a Thank you for creating a recipe, except when I got there I learned the other participants had all been recompensed for their recipes.   I had not expected to get paid, but the difference in treatment left a feeling of unfairness and exploitation. So I tread these waters tentatively.  

You may be interested to note that there is a company in Japan that actually sells Strawberry Curry, but it comes in a packet. I assure you this one is home made and not fruity sweet at all.  It made for a nice change from the traditional Indian style Dal.  You can even eat this curry as a Soup or stew if you want, its quite versatile.  If you don't have Puy lentils feel free to substitute it with green lentils. For more unusual Strawberry recipes see here. 

I am sharing this Strawberry, Tomato, Puy Lential and Red Pepper Curry with Sneaky Veg, Hijacked by Twins for CookBlog Share; hosted by Easy Peasy Foodie and.My Legume Love Affair that was started by The Well Seasoned Cook and now administed by Lisa's Kitchen.  this month is is hosted by Sneha Recipes. and  Healthy Vegan Fridays hosted by Rock My Vegan Socks and V Nutrition.
Strawberry, Tomato, Red Pepper and Puy Lentils
Serves 6 - 8
Ingredients
1-2 tablespoons olive oil
2 medium onions, finely sliced
4 cloves garlic, crushed
11/2  mild chilli powder
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1 teaspoon ground coriander
2 x 400g tins tomatoes, chopped
1 large red pepper, cored, and diced
300g Puy lentils or puy style green lentils
100g strawberries, roughly chopped
11/2 pint vegetable stock
Method
Heat the oil in a wide pan, then saute the onion and garlic until very tender, then stir in the spices and allow it to infuse for a couple of minutes, before stirring int he chopped tomatoes and cook until the tomatoes begin to collapse.  Crush the tomatoes with the back of the spoon to help them along, then stir in the lentils and stock and cook on medium heat for 40 to 50 minutes or until the lentils are tender.  If the stock is too thick, add a little water if you wish. 
Towards the end, stir in the chopped strawberries and cook for a further 10 minutes.
Taste and adjust seasoning, before serving.