Soulful, comforting Sweet Potato & Lentil Dal topped with a flavorful “tempering oil”. A quick 30-minute vegan meal that is simple to make and full of fragrant Indian spices.
No matter how successful we have been in the outer world, judged by standards external to us, if we are not living in accord with the intent of our soul, depression is likely to follow. ~James Hollis~
Sweet Potato Lentil Dal is humble comfort food for the soul. Infused with fragrant Indian spices, it’s a very simple but deeply satisfying meal, that awakens your taste buds while nourishing your whole body down to the core.
A lentil stew of sorts, it is finished with an optional, but delicious, “tempering oil,” which is basically whole spices like mustard seeds, fennel seeds,and cumin seeds briefly seared in coconut oil (or ghee), releasing an incredible aroma into the house, before it is drizzled over the dal for an extra burst of flavor.
For added texture, sprinkle with coconut flakes. Serve this with fluffy basmati rice or toasty naan bread, for a fast 30 minute, economical, soul-satisfying meal. To me, this is pure comfort food.
Lentil Sweet Potato Dal | 60-second Video
The wonderful thing is this can be personalized to your taste. Today I added a stray sweet potato, but try adding roasted cauliflower, roasted butternut, peas, carrots, bell pepper, spinach, kale, or any other vegetable that needs to be eaten. You can also add cooked chicken if so inclined, although it is traditionally vegetarian. The ghee (clarified butter) is of course optional, but I have to say it is so yummy! It can be found at Trader Joe’s and upscale markets like Whole Foods.
What is Dal?
Dal, if unfamiliar, is both a dish and an ingredient. A flavorful vegetarian stew commonly found all over India, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh- it is comforting, hearty and a good source of protein.
The word “dal” also refers to a dried pulse that has been “split” – most commonly you see this with lentils, peas, chickpeas and some legumes.
What makes Dal special are the warming spices. Traditionally dal is served over basmati rice, or scooped up with roti (a tortilla-like bread) or mopped up with chapati or naan bread. It’s delicious over other whole grains too – like quinoa, farro or buckwheat.
Here I used red split lentils called Masoor Dal, which have been in my pantry for… I don’t even want to tell you how long!
I guess the good thing is they really don’t go bad, or so I like to tell myself. 😉
Soak the dal in 3 cups boiling water while you prep the remaining ingredients.
The addition of whole spices cooked in ghee ( or coconut oil) gives the dal its delicious flavor!
Saute the onion, garlic, ginger and chilies.
Add the spices and tomatoes.
Add the lentils and the hot water.
At this point you could also add the sweet potatoes, or for even better texture, roast them!
I prefer to roast these, but cooking them directly in the dal is an option – especially if short on time.
And the last step is to make the flavorful tempering oil, which you will spoon over the dal.
Trust me when I say, this brings dal to another level! Don’t skip this step!
More Indian recipes you may like:
- Emerald Dal
- Golden Cauliflower Dal w/ Red Lentils, Coconut and Spinach
- Indian Shepherds Pie
- Rajasthani Butternut Squash Curry
- Easy Homemade Naan Bread!
- Raita Recipe
The leftover dal makes for a nutritious and filling lunch and can be microwaved and scooped into naan or served over basmati Rice.
I hope you like it!
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Lentil Dal with Sweet Potatoes
- Prep Time: 10 mins
- Cook Time: 20 mins
- Total Time: 30 mins
- Yield: 4 1x
- Category: Vegetarian Main
- Method: Stove top
- Cuisine: Indian
- Diet: Hindu
Description
Soulful, Comforting Red Lentil Dal with Sweet Potatoes and a flavorful “tempering oil”. A quick 30 minute meal that is simple to make and full of fragrant Indian spices. Vegan! See notes about roasting the sweet potato vs. cooking it with the dal.
Ingredients
- 3 cups hot water
- 1 cup red lentils (split lentils)
- 2 tablespoons ghee, or coconut oil
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 1 tablespoon grated (or minced) fresh ginger
- 4 cloves garlic – minced
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds (or substitute ground cumin)
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 –3 fresh chilies- serrano chili pepper, (or jalapeño) slit down the side vertically (optional)
- 1 tablespoon Garam Masala Spice
- 1 teaspoon fenugreek leaves ( optional, but tasty)
- 2 bay leaves
- 2 medium tomatoes, diced (or one 14-ounce can diced)
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 medium sweet potato or yam, diced into 3/4 inch cubes, skins OK (other veggies include cauliflower, green peas, spinach, kale, carrots, etc) SEE NOTES.
- 1 teaspoon honey or maple syrup
- Handful fresh cilantro leaves or chopped scallions for garnish
- Toasted Flaked coconut- optional
Tempering oil – highly recommended!!!
- 2–3 tablespoons ghee, or coconut oil
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds ( or coriander, crushed)
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
- 8 curry leaves (optional, but doubly amazing.)
Instructions
- Rinse lentils and soak in 3 cups hot water in a bowl.
- In a large heavy bottom pot or Dutch oven, heat ghee over medium heat.
- Add whole seeds- cumin, fennel mustard seeds and saute until they begin to sizzle.
- Add onion, saute for 2-3 minutes, stirring, then add ginger and garlic, and saute until tender and golden, about 5 minutes. Add fenugreek, bay leaves, garam masala, fresh chilies, tomatoes and salt. Saute 3-4 minutes until they start breaking down. Add the sweet potatoes (***if roasting, add these at the end, see notes) lentils and hot water, along with honey.
- Give a stir, bring to boil, cover, and turn heat down, and let gently simmer, about 10-15 minutes, or until lentils are tender. After 15 minutes, uncover and check consistency, If watery, continue to simmer uncovered until it reduces and becomes thicker.
- Adjust salt, adding more to your taste, keeping in mind you want this to be slightly salty if serving over rice.
- Make the tempering oil to drizzle over top: heat oil or ghee over medium-high heat, add seeds and curry leaves and swirl or stir until you hear popping about 30- 45 seconds. Turn heat off. Spoon it over the dal, after plating it up.
- Serve with toasted naan bread, or basmati rice, garnishing with cilantro and flaked coconut.
Notes
- I really like ROASTING the sweet potato – which gives this a better texture in my opinion. But to save time here, I added the sweet potato directly with the lentils to cook. Up to you! If roasting, do this first- toss the cubes with olive oil, salt and pepper, and roast on a parchment-lined sheet pan at 400F until tender, about 20 minutes, while you cook the dal on the stovetop. Spoon it in after the dal is cooked.
- To add more richness, without adding ghee, you could also add a little coconut milk.
Nutrition
- Serving Size: 1 ½ cups
- Calories: 355
- Sugar: 5.1 g
- Sodium: 470 mg
- Fat: 14.2 g
- Saturated Fat: 6.6 g
- Carbohydrates: 45.7 g
- Fiber: 8.2 g
- Protein: 13.6 g
- Cholesterol: 0 mg
Turned out amazing. So delicious with Sweet potatoes butternut squash and spinach.
Wow people weren’t kidding – make a double batch at least – I wish I had more! I bought small amounts of the spices from the bulk section since it’s a lot of things I rarely use. I used some tomatoes I had canned this summer and roasted the veggies first (sweet potato, carrots). I had a piece of Trader Joe’s freezer naan on the side and skipped the rice. It’s so good I immediately texted the recipe to everyone I know. Yum yum yum!
Thanks Hailey! Glad you enjoyed!
Turned out delicious! I made 12 servings for a team practice, everyone enjoyed it. I did make some tweaks. I added coconut milk to make it creamier (and still vegan). I also put less tomatoes in (4). Lastly I let it simmer for over an hour to have everything soak in the flavor. It turned out really special- definitely for my recipe book!! Thank you!
Love this quick easy recipe! Yr site is inspiring and has given me back the love of cooking. Thanks so much!
I am in love with this filling and easy dal recipe! Added cauliflower and served it over coconut jasmine rice – so yummy. The tempering oil with toasted fennel and cumin seeds adds something really special – don’t skip this step!
Thanks Angie, appreciate the comment and recommendation!
Another fab recipe! Came across this site in the new year and have made numerous dishes…all of them tasty and easy to do. Clean plates every time!
Great to hear! Glad you have enjoyed!
My lovely wife cooked this as a surprise. It was scrumptious. Don’t change anything about the recipe – it’s perfect as is. It’s simultaneously slightly sweet and spicy, with many flavors of the spices coming through as you devour it. I could eat this every day! THANK YOU!
This is the best dal I’ve ever made. Thankyou!
We make this regularly since we tried it some time ago. It is rich and complex!
We tinker with the recipe some. Omit the sugar and salt. Substitute whatever peppers we have, poblanos went in the most recent batch. Add a tablespoon of fresh grated turmeric. Sometimes we add pork or chicken.
Generally serve over rice. Used butternut squash instead of sweet potato this time, that’s what we happened to have. It is delicious!!! We love it so much we make bigger batches so we can feeeze it for later! Thank you for a new family favorite!
Thanks for sharing Patience! Appreciate it!
Great fun making this with family chopping and crushing the ingredients. Trick to cook the mixture covered with a lid for first 15-20mins. Then taking off the lid to allow the mixture to reduce down. Very tasty and easy to make. We doubled the quantities for 8 people – it all went!
Primary struggle was not eating it while I waited for the rice to cook ? cheers for a simple, hearty meal to serve my family.
haha! love it, glad you enjoyed it!
Had to add more flavouring as it was a bit bland. Not the best dal recipe.
Did you add the whole toasted spices at the end?
Absolutely love this recipe. So easy to make and real comfort food. I need to add a little more salt than the recipe states but this is suggested to add to taste at the end. One of my favourite curries ever.
Absolutely LOVED this disb! So flavorful, delicious, filling – and best of all easy!
YUM! I just love all of your recipes that I have tried… and so do my friends I cook them for! I love your photos, they are beautiful and the recipes come out looking close to what you have made. Thank you so much for sharing all of these <3
Hi Sylvia, thank you so much for this recipe, quite one of the easiest and most delicious dals I have tried making! As always your recipies are amazing and easy to cook! A quick question, is it ok to freeze a batch? Thank you so much!
Nice recipe. I will definitely try this soon.
The way you presented the dish is so appetizing to my eyes, nice photos!
Hi Sylvia, thanks for the great recipe; I tried last night – delicious.
One question about the chili pepper – do you put the chili pepper halves in with the seeds?
Yes, I do, but feel free to remove.
I just finished making this tonight and it is so comforting, warm, hearty and soul-soothing, just as promised. As always, your layering of flavors is superb and on a side note I have to agree with the first commenter, I LOVE your quotes included with each recipe. Cooking is my way of grounding and soothing myself in our ever increasingly fast paced and digital world. Your words and pictures always set the tone so beautifully and I turn to them like a treasured book when I’m in need of a reset. I drool, I peruse, I get excited and I remember my true nature. Thank you for sharing yourself and your cooking with all of us. You are a gift to this world and I am grateful you are here.
Thanks so much for your words… very appreciated. I love how you say that cooking is a way of grounding yourself… it is for me too. Well said. You are such a good writer Laurie! I want to read more! All the best to you.
This is an amazing recipe. I love your blog. Amazing recipes and pictures. I substitued the sugar with Agave syrup and it worked really well. The only problem is that I made it just for me and almost ate the whole quantity.
Thanks Mariam! I do that too. 😉
Another winner! Made it with roasted sweet potato and cauliflower with some leftover green peas. A crowd pleaser at dinner! Thank you for the great recipe! 🙂
Thank you Heather, glad it turned out!!
Sylvia, thank you for this and for just such a great blog. Every recipe I have tried of yours has been lovely and successful. This is on my list to do as well. Have a lovely weekend 🙂
Ahhh…thanks Lynne, so glad you are enjoying them. Happy weekend to you too!
Hi Sylvia. Very lovely site and posts and very beautiful soul you have. I love Dal dishes a lot, very versatile use of pulses, veggies and spices. I just wanted to mention that for spiciness (if someone likes the heat) I usually ad dried hot peppers to the Tempering oil (one has to be careful though as peppers release their heat fast when added to hot spice mixture). As a substitute for sugar I use pure coconut water as part of the cooking liquid.
Thank you again for your wonderful presence.
Natasha, thanks so much….and I love BOTH your ideas….brilliant! Thanks!
Sylvia,
I just stumbled upon your Instagram profile and what a treat! I just made my first Indian dish this weekend and it was a success! I can’t wait to try this one posted here. I enjoy the spices and comfort of Indian food. Yum! Your posts are inspiring and I look forward to sharing this recipe with my Pilates clients. Wondering if the recipe would be fine without the teaspoon of sugar?
Thanks Dee Dee! Yes you can substitute honey or maple.
Sylvia, I love, love, LOVE your website. Although I am striving to go as raw as i can muster, i do wind up doing some cooked food, especially in our cold Canadian winters. Your recipes are so healthy that even when I do cook food, I don’t feel so guilty.
What I love about your blogs the most is the quotations you open with. Every single one spoke to me and I find myself making a note to read the authors you quote. Many people, especially now, are on a spiritual quest of one sort or another. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for giving a very gentle, and maybe even unintentional, nudge to our personal evolution. I’d love to know who else you read and maybe just books that have been of importance to you. Ever consider doing a “books I love” tab on your blog?
Many thanks!
Namaste,
marina
Thanks for the note Marina, it means a lot. I’m never quite sure how the quotes come across, but it’s my little way of sharing where I really am in my life, what I’m reading and what is moving me. Yes, I do believe many of us are on a spiritual quest…finding out how meaningless life feels without this component. I know how I feel when I’m “disconnected” from my spiritual self, and so reading and being still in the morning seems to be one thing that keeps me connected. I feel inspired to share these here knowing they are not for everyone, but maybe they will strike a chord with someone who needs that nudge. Other books Im reading now are Wise Heart by Jack Kornfield, and a favorite I read a couple years ago, The Untethered Soul. There are so many great books out there… and I think the best ones are always the ones that find us. The timing of the universe …so wise.