Sweet Potato and Spinach Dhal
I won't lie to you, I'm not much of a cook. I go through phases of trying new recipes, which I've been doing a lot since I became vegan a couple of months ago, but after making and ruining a recipe once or twice I go back to cooking nuggets and oven chips for a quick meal. I like things that are quick and easy to make, that don't require you to be Gordon Ramsey, and ideally involve as little clean up as possible.
I can't remember how I found this recipe, but I'm so glad I did, because it's become a go-to. I don't really follow the recipe any more, and I never really measure anything when cooking (which is why I'm awful at baking) but this dhal is completely idiot proof, and even when you get it slightly wrong it's still good. I like to make it in giant batches, even though a little of this goes a long way and is super filling, so I can have some ready for dinner to take to work if I don't have much time to make something before I leave.
A list of ingredients and exact measurements can be found in the like above to the original recipe, but like I said, I don't play by the book, so this is just how I throw everything together.
I start by chopping up a large white onion. The recipe says to dice it, but I find that once it's all done the flavour kind of gets lost, and I quite like the sweet onion in it, so I roughly slice it up. I then pop it in a large preheated saucepan on the lowest heat with a glug of sesame oil, put the lid over it, and set the timer for 10 minutes.
While the onion is softening, I prep the sweet potato by peeling a couple of big ones and chopping them into fairly even chunks. I find that if you halve them a few times they're the right size and don't end up too mushy when cooked. I also use this time to chop up a clove of garlic (although garlic powder works just as well) and put some water in the kettle to boil for vegetable stock.
Once the onions are done I season them with the garlic, and turmeric and cumin. I don't add salt in at this point because it can get a bit much with the vegetable stock in. I don't go by measurements, so I'd say I use roughly a tablespoon of each spice. The first time I made this I used a teaspoon and a quarter but I found it didn't have as much flavour as I'd like it to. Once the onions are coated I then add the sweet potato chunks and mix everything around until covered in seasoning.
The next step is to pour in the lentils, and then NOT MIX IT. This will bring all the potato to the top of the pan which then means it won't cook properly and you'll have a big old mess of lentils when you have to cook everything for longer to soften them up. Over the lentils goes the vegetable stock, until everything is covered. Bring the liquid up to boil, then reduce the heat, cover and cook for 20 minutes.
Once done, you can taste the seasoning and add whatever you feel is lacking, before stirring in some spinach. I'm not necessarily a spinach fan, but 80g really doesn't seem like much to me once it's wilted down and stirred in. 250g (approx half of the big bag I usually get) does just fine for me, but it depends on your taste and how much you like the green stuff. Depending on if I have any floating around in the fridge leftover, I sometimes add cauliflower 5 minutes after I've put the lentils in, just to add some extra health.
I hope this has been at least mildly helpful if you're looking for a new vegan recipe, or just some new hearty food to try. If you have a go at making it I'd love to hear how it came out and what you thought!
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