Sweet potato dhal from my childhood

Preparation: 45 minutes – $ – Easy

This dish it reminds me of India and I love it. Its spices, its smells in the kitchen while cooking, its colours… There’s nothing better then entering a kitchen with the smell of a good meal on the fire.

The trick of such a meal are the spices, you need to explore them and get to know their uses and taste.

Dhal can be explored in multiples ways and depending on the season, you can add different vegetables. Remember when I did the Swiss Chards Dhal I made a while ago. They are an excellent source of protein and iron and they don’t contain fat. Perfect for a “sport diet”, you can eat them either with rice or without. I try not to after an evening swimming session not to eat to much carbs, and trust me, you won’t wake up starving in the middle of night!

I made this pot for lunch as my girl friend Nelly and her Scottish/Canadian/something like that boyfriend where coming over. Both of them are hight level athletes and they need to be fed well 🙂 Nelly isn’t the champion of “the eating well process” but she’s eating well at my house, at least !

3 small onions, chopped

270gr. sweet potatoes, diced

200 gr. chards, chopped

260 gr. leeks, chopped

215 gr. carrots, chopped

180 gr. red lentils

1,75L water

1 cube of vegetable broth

4 dry figs

2 tbsp. neutral oil

1,5 tbsp. turmeric

1,5 tbsp. curry

1/3 tsp. fenugreek

1/3 tsp. black mustard seeds

2 tsp. cumin

1/2 tsp. coriander seeds

1/2 (small) cinnamon stick

1 small red chilli

15 gr. ginger

1. In a large pot, add the oil, all the spices and stir fry for about 1 minutes.

2. Add the onions and the carrots, cook for 5 minutes than add the dry lentils.

3. Cook on high heat for about 3 minutes, you want your lentils to turn into a light golden colour.

4. Add all the water and the rest of the ingredients. When preparation is boiling, turn down the heat to medium, cover and cook for an extra 45 minutes up to an hour. You can, of course, eat it after 30 minutes cooking but it will taste better if you cook it for longer 🙂