My Mama’s food knowledge is endless!
My mother made something very similar when we were visiting them earlier this year (read about our trip to KZN here). That specific evening we hosted a big get-together for our friends we have not seen in ages. Needless to say, everyone enjoyed this dish, especially my vegetarian friend, Henelle. Watching my mother cook this dish, I noticed how simple it was to prepare. My mother gave me the recipe, but somewhere along the line, it got lost. I played around with this dish a few Meat-free Mondays and came up with my own version.
Never a Dahl moment with this dish
The last time I served this dish to my husband he told me that this dish is pretty much Dahl. I have never heard of Dahl before and he had to explain to me that it is a dish (stew, curry, soup) prepared with pulses. It is also spelled Daal, Dal and Dhal. My husband travels to many countries throughout Africa and ordered Dahl for dinner one Meat-free Monday whilst in Tanzania.
As we all know and love to do, curries are normally eaten with either rice or naan bread or in a roti. My favourite of the lot is naan bread, especially sweet peshwari naan. Pasta and bread is something that is only eaten over weekends in our house, so I had to think of something else to serve this red lentil curry with. The sweet potato crisps are PERFECT to scoop up all of the deliciousness in your bowl without adding too many carbs.
Tip: If you have never dry cooked your spices before you add it to any curry, you are missing out on some serious flavour. Be sure to try this next time you make curry – it really intensifies the flavours.
This is a simple dish for Meat-free Mondays and it is Vegan and Gluten-free.
Let me know what you think.
xxx
Ingredients
Red Lentil Curry
- 1 – 2 Teaspoons Oriental Masala (depending on the intensity you would like / your tolerance to spicy food)
- 1 Teaspoon Ground Cumin
- ½ Teaspoon Tumeric
- Olive Oil
- 1 Onion
- 2 Garlic Cloves
- ½ Teaspoon Chopped Garlic
- 4 Large Tomatoes, Chopped
- ½ Teaspoon Yellow Mustard Seeds
- ½ Teaspoon Black Mustard Seeds
- ½ Cup Red Lentils (no pre-soaking necessary)
- 500ml Vegetable Stock Liquid
- Squeeze of Lemon
- 1 Teaspoon Sugar
- Plain Yogurt (garnish - leave out for a vegan dish)
- Fresh Coriander Leaves (garnish)
Sweet Potato Crisps
- 2 large orange sweet potatoes
- Olive Oil
- Salt
- Pepper
Instructions
Red Lentil Curry
- In a small pan, over medium heat dry cook (without oil) the masala, cumin and turmeric until the flavours are released – about 2 minutes. Make sure to stir it with a wooden spoon to make sure it doesn’t burn.
- In a medium pot or a pan with high sides, heat a dash of olive oil and cook the onions over medium heat. Make sure the onions do not burn.
- Once the onions are soft, add the garlic, ginger and the dry cooked spices. Cook for another minute, stirring to make sure it does not burn.
- Add the chopped tomatoes and mustard seeds and cook with the lid on. Stir every now and then to make sure it does not burn.
- Once the tomatoes are soft and has lost most of their shapes, add the red lentils and the stock liquid. Cook covered until the lentils are soft, but has not lost their shapes. Make sure to stir every now and then to prevent burning. If you see the red lentils are not soft yet and needs more liquid, add a little boiling water at a time.
- Add a squeeze of lemon and the sugar.
- Season it with salt and pepper.
- Divide into 4 bowls, add a dollop of plain yogurt to each bowl and top with fresh coriander leaves.
- Serve with sweet potato crisps on the side.
Sweet Potato Crisps
- Line an oven tray with foil.
- Cut the sweet potato crosswise into very thin slices. Place the slices onto the oven tray in a single layer.
- Drizzle with olive oil. Season with salt and pepper.
- Bake in a 180°C pre-heated oven for 10 – 15 minutes then turning the sweet potato around. Bake for another 10 minutes until the sweet potato turns into crispy rounds.
- Serve immediately as the sweet potato may lose its crispiness and become soft again.