Perfect Spicy Red Lentil Dip

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Again, I'm craving spicy Indian food and had everything in my pantry / fridge for this one. Comes to us from myrecipes.com . Made it tonight and it's awesome. My (almost 2 year old) son wouldn't stop eating it, I was shocked as I up'd the red pepper from 1/8 to 1/4 tsp, we both loved it! mmm mmm mmm Such a nice change of pace from hummus, I'm a bit burnt on that one..I don't use cooking spray, it's a chemical sh*t storm in a can, why ruin perfectly good food with that?? Instead coat the pita with a nice thin layer of coconut oil and a few grinds of sea salt (left out the pepper, didn't want to complicate anything) Used coconut oil instead of olive to sautee - Enjoy!

You can use green or brown lentils, but the dip won't be as pretty.

Yield: 10 servings (serving size: about 1/4 cup dip and 2 pita crisps) or one hungry toddler, Mamma (with a little left over for lunch)

Ingredients

• DIP:
• 1  cup  dried small red lentils
• 1  bay leaf
• 1  tablespoon  olive oil
• 1  cup  finely chopped onion
• 2  tablespoons  pine nuts
• 1  tablespoon  tomato paste
• 1  teaspoon  fine sea salt
• 1  teaspoon  ground coriander seeds
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground cumin
• 1/2  teaspoon  ground caraway seeds
• 1/8  teaspoon  ground red pepper
• 3  garlic cloves, minced
• 3  tablespoons  fresh lemon juice
• 
  PITA CRISPS:
• 4  (6-inch) pitas, each cut into 5 wedges
• Cooking spray
• 1/8  teaspoon  fine sea salt
• 1/8  teaspoon  freshly ground black pepper

Preparation

Preheat oven to 350°.

To prepare dip, place lentils and bay leaf in a large saucepan; cover with water to 2 inches above lentils. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 8 minutes or until tender. Drain well. Discard bay leaf.

Heat oil in a small nonstick skillet over medium-high heat. Add onion and nuts; saute 5 minutes or until nuts are lightly browned. Stir in tomato paste and next 6 ingredients (tomato paste through garlic); cook 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in juice. Combine lentils and onion mixture in a food processor; process until smooth.

To prepare pita crisps, coat 1 side of each pita wedge with cooking spray; sprinkle wedges evenly with 1/8 teaspoon salt and black pepper. Arrange wedges iz a single layer on a baking sheet. Bake at 350° for 20 minutes or until golden.

PROPS! click here to view original recipe