Daal is a traditional Indian dish that’s been used to nourish families and new mothers for hundreds of years. This is our quick, modern version which you can throw together in around 45 minutes with staples from your pantry. I love how warming the spices are, how creamy it is and how yum the earthy sweet potato is – not to mention that it’s a powerhouse meal of protein, fibre and iron.
It’s also such an affordable one, i’d estimate the whole dish coming together for around $2 per serve. The cheeky addition of marmalade and yoghurt at the end really tops it off – I have no doubt this one will be on rotation and in your freezer soon enough.
Sweet potato daal
This is one of my favourite recipes to batch cook and freeze – it's spiced but creamy and perfect for postpartum as its full of protein, fibre and iron.
Equipment
- 1 Deep sided pan or pot
Ingredients
- 1 medium onion diced finely
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 1 medium sweet potato diced
- 2 cups of split red lentils soaked, or rinsed well
- Handful of spinach leaves chopped finely
- 400 ml can of diced tomatoes
- 400 ml can of coconut milk
- 3 cups bone broth or stock chicken or vegetable
- 2 heaped teaspoons curry powder
- 1 heaped teaspoon garam masala
- 1 tsp orange marmalade or fig jam
- Salt and pepper
- 1 tablespoon of ghee or butter
Instructions
- Dice up the onions, sweet potato and chop your spinach leaves roughly whilst you preheat your pan/pot on a head heat.
- Lightly caramelise your onion and minced garlic till fragrant (not too brown), remove and put aside.
- Add your diced sweet potato to your pan/pot and add a dash of water to help steam them slightly. Cook till they are softened slightly and caramelised.
- Add the spices and split red lentils, stirring to combine till lightly toasted and fragrant.
- Add your garlic and onion back in along with the chopped tomatoes, stock and coconut milk. Season generously with salt and pepper.
- Bring up to a medium simmer for around 20 minutes, stirring occasionally so it doesn’t stick to the bottom (but likely will in a non-stick pot/pan).
- Add in your marmalade and spinach leaves and cook for 5-10 more minutes. The daal should be thickening up nicely, similar to porridge.
- Serve with brown rice and some yoghurt on the top. Optionally add some papadums or naan to scoop it all up.
Notes
If you pre-soak your lentils it will aid with digestion. If you run out of time, simply rinse them thoroughly in cold water – even soak whilst you prepare everything else. You can swap spinach leaves out for baby spinach if you have it on hand. This size meal will feed 6-8 people, perfect recipe for preparing for your or a loved ones postpartum. It is a vegetarian dish by default, to make it vegan simply sub ghee for coconut oil and be sure to use vegetable stock instead of chicken.
