In need of a quick, healthy and tasty dinner recipe? You came to the right place with this Indian Spiced Lentil with Shrimp dish!
Red lentils cook until in about 15-minutes, so there’s no need to prep them ahead of time.
You can use frozen or raw shrimp for this dish, but make sure to thaw the shrimp in the refrigerator overnight if you plan to use the frozen variety.
To Get Started
Prep the lentils. First, sweat the shallot, garlic and ginger over some butter or olive oil. Add chopped tomato, garam masala, salt and pepper. The house is going to start smelling amazing!
Next, toss in 1 cup of red lentils with 2 1/2 cups of water. Cook the lentils on a low simmer until tender, but typically they take about 15-minutes to finish.
You’ll finish up the lentils with a few big handfuls of baby spinach, coconut cream, salt and pepper.
Cook the Shrimp
Shrimp is an excellent low fat, high protein, quick-cooking dinner option.
Toss the raw, thawed shrimp in ginger, garam masala, salt and pepper in a medium mixing bowl. Allow the flavors to sit for a few minutes.
Then, add butter or oil to a skillet over medium heat. Throw in the marinated shrimp and cook on both sides until browned. This usually takes about 5-minutes total so don’t walk away from the stovetop!
Putting It All Together
Plate your Indian spiced lentils with shrimp by scooping a generous helping of lentils to the bottom of a bowl. Top the lentils with 3-4 shrimp. Then, toss on some fresh, chopped cilantro to complete the plate. Dinner is served!
Diets
This recipe complies with the following diets:
- Paleo- no
- Low FODMAP– no
- SCD- no
- Gluten free– yes
- Grain free- yes
- Vegan/Vegetarian- no
- Dairy free- yes, as long as you use oil in place of butter
Nutrition Facts
This recipe makes 4 servings
Per serving: 325 calories, 9g fat, 33g carbohydrate, 6g fiber, 27.5g protein
- 2 tablespoons of butter or oil*
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 2 plum tomatoes, cored and chopped
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- Sea salt and black pepper to tastae
- 1 cup dry red lentils
- 1 pound raw, peeled, deveined shrimp
- 3 cups baby spinach
- 2 tablespoons coconut cream
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro
- In a large pot, add 1 tbsp of butter/oil over medium heat. Add the shallot, garlic and 2 tsp ginger, and saute until tender.
- Then, toss in the chopped tomatoes, 1 teaspoon garam masala, salt and pepper. Cook for 2-3 minutes.
- Toss in the lentils with 2 1/2 cups of water. Bring the mixture to a simmer and cook for about 15-minutes, or until the lentils are tender.
- While the lentils are cooking, mix together the raw shrimp with 1 tsp ginger, 1 tsp garam masala, salt and pepper to a medium mixing bowl.
- Heat 1 tbsp of butter/oil in a large saute pan over medium heat. Cook the shrimp, on both sides, until lightly browned. Be sure not to overcook! Shrimp are usually done in about 5-minutes.
- To finish off the dish, mix in spinach and coconut cream to the cooked lentils. Stir until the spinach begins to wilt.
- Plate each dish with lentils, cooked shrimp and a sprinkle of chopped cilantro.
- *Use oil in place of butter for a dairy-free recipe
