Sweet potato, lentil curry

To reduce cost and to keep within our food budget we are eating a lot more food without meat.  I have always made vegetarian curry using chickpeas but was short of them the other week and so I tried using red lentils instead.  This is now our favourite curry and tastes a bit like a Thai curry. They were brilliant as they absorbed the flavour of the spices but they also added a lot of protein and fibre.  I like using red lentils as they do not need soaking, but I do usually give them a rinse to wash off any dust or dirt.  I used American cups to make this meal as I find it easier than getting out the scales.  You can buy them from places like Poundland very cheaply in the UK.  Alternatively, before I got some cups, I used to use a small tea cup for recipes.  The slow cooker is one of the cheapest ways to cook and I was going out for the day and so I made it in that and cooked it on slow.  Most recipes add the coconut milk near the end but I just bunged every thing in which is my favourite way of cooking.

Ingredients

2 cups of dried red lentils

4 cups of cubed sweet potato (2 medium potatoes)

1 pint of vegetable stock

1 can of tinned tomatoes, chopped or a large cup of roasted fresh tomatoes.

Half a red pepper (or any fridge gravel that you have that needs eating up eg carrots, green beans.  I usually add spinach too if I have some).

1 medium onion chopped

3 cloves of garlic or a heaped spoon of lazy garlic

Make your own paste using 1 heaped dessertspoon of coconut oil (soften in the microwave if hard), 2 heaped dessert spoons of garlic powder, 1 tsp of ground cumin, 1 tsp ground coriander, 1 level dessertspoon of turmeric, 2 heaped dessertspoons of garam masala, 1 level tsp of chilli flakes)

1tsp of sugar (optional)

1tsp ground ginger

Big pinch of salt

3tsp of tomato puree

1 can of coconut milk (or at least a cup full).  I use coconut powder and make it up as it is a lot cheaper.

Method

1. Rinse the lentils in a sieve and add them to the slow cooker.
2. Add all of the other ingredients besides spinach and stir well.
3. Put the lid on and cook for 3 to 4 hours on high, or 7 to 8 ours on low.
4. Sometimes I need to add a splash more water if I have added a lot of vegetables
5. If you are adding spinach add it 30 minutes from the end of cooking time and stir in.
6. Taste and add more seasoning if required.
7. Serve with rice or Naan and garnish with coriander if you have some.

Other ways to serve

This made enough for 6 to 8 helpings and so we freeze it in portions as a quick meal another time. It freezes really well.  If you don’t have the various spices you could add curry powder instead.  I buy my spices and pulses from the World Food aisle in large supermarkets as they work out a lot cheaper. We use curry in different ways.  Sometimes I will put curry into pasties for picnics or when we are travelling.  I also use it on baked potatoes, in toasted wraps done in the air fryer, or even have on toast for lunch. This is a really healthy meal that fills us up and is full of protein.  Enjoy.