This sweet potato and lentil curry inspired recipe is one of my favourite meals because it’s a ‘ONE POT WONDER’! This is ideal for minimal washing up required, and it is super easy as the whole recipe is done in stages, but in the same one pot. This curry is a great allergen-friendly dish, being vegan, gluten-free, and nut-free!
Please note this is a Curry inspired dish that has been adapted to use Indian flavours along with commonly found western cupboard and fridge ingredients.
Important stuff:
The recipe in this blog post is adapted using the inspiration I took from enjoying curry in India, using ingredients commonly found have in our western cupboards as I would love more people in the UK to try out some Indian cooking and hopefully this can be a stepping stone into you discovering a love for Indian cuisine.
I am a huge fan of Indian cooking, for its beautiful flavours and because a lot of the meals can be vegan friendly with just a few alternations. I have been lucky enough to have visited India before the pandemic and since visiting these countries, I have incorporated some Indian flavours and Indian inspired recipes into my weekly meals.
This curry inspired recipe has been highly requested on my food Instagram and I would love it if you try it out. However, as this is not a traditional Indian curry, there are lots of other food bloggers with plant-based recipes for Indian meals so I urge you to give these a try as well. Maybe even visit your local Asian supermarket to grab your ingredients instead of ordering it off Amazon. This will help out your local small businesses and Asian members of your own community.
Sweet Potato and Lentil Curry Recipe:
Ingredients
(Serves 4 with rice)
- 1 medium-large red onion, diced
- 1 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil
- 2 cloves of garlic, minced
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1/2 tsp chilli powder (or more to taste, I just personally don’t like very spicy food)
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1 tbsp ground coriander
- Approx 600g sweet potato
- 1 cup dry green lentils
- 600g (or 2 tins) chopped tomatoes
- 40g creamed coconut
- 1/2 cup fresh coriander, chopped (+ any leaves for garnishing)
- 250g spinach
- salt and pepper, to taste
Optional: Serve with cooked rice and vegan yoghurt (coconut yoghurt compliments the dish perfectly).
You will need:
- 1 large saucepan, with a lid
Method:
- Chop and lightly fry the red onion on medium heat in 1 tbsp vegetable or coconut oil.
- Add all spices and garlic to the onion. Continue to fry until the onions are soft (about 5-7 minutes).
- Add the dry lentils and 2 cups of water. Bring the water to a boil and then simmer for 10 minutes on low heat, with the lid on the saucepan.
- Stir and add another cup of water. Continue to simmer for a further 10 minutes with the lid still on.
- Chop the sweet potato into medium chunks (approx 2cm cubed squares) and add these to the pan (I leave the skin on mine). Add a final cup of water and simmer for 10 minutes, with the lid off.
- Stir in the chopped tomatoes, and cook on medium-high heat, until the curry reduces and thickens.
- Add the creamed coconut, fresh coriander and spinach and stir for approx 1 minute (till the spinach has wilted).
Let me know if you have any questions about this dish by sending me a DM over on my Instagram page and please tag me @virtually_vegan if you do decide to recreate this ONE POT WONDER at home!
If you liked this curry post, you may also like my KATSU CURRY RECIPE:
The Katsu curry recipe is a great option if, like me, you can’t hack too much chilli and heat in your food. The Katsu is packed full of flavoursome spice without too much of a hot chilli kick.