Sweet Potato, Tomato, and Coconut Curry – a vegetarian Dinner

This recipe came in the November 2021 edition of Sainsbury’s magazine. It was one of a series of recipes designed to help you ‘get ahead’ in the run-up to Christmas.

It’s a large recipe, to feed 8 people. The idea was to feed 4 now, freeze the rest, and feed another – or the same – 4 later on. I made half the recipe to see  whether we liked it, or if it was going to be taking up precious space in my small freezer. It’s got that ‘one-pot magic’ that I’m so fond of, although you do have to serve rice, Naan etc separately.

We tried it, and we did like it, so I thought you might like it too..

EQUIPMENT:

• A large saucepan
• A grater

INGREDIENTS: This is for 4. Double everything if you’re catering for more, or you’re going to eat some/freeze some.

• 1 tablespoon of oil                                                  
• 1 large onion, cut into crescents
• A thumb of Ginger, peeled and grated
• 2 large garlic cloves, grated
• 1 Teaspoon of ground Turmeric
• 1 Teaspoon  of Cumin seeds
• 1 Teaspoon of ground Coriander
• 2 Teaspoons of mild Curry powder
• 1/2 a Teaspoon  of Cayenne Pepper
• 250g Red Lentils, washed in a sieve.
• 500g of Sweet potato, peeled and chopped into 1-2cm chunks
• 500g Plum tomatoes, roughly chopped
• 300mls hot vegetable stock
• A tin of Coconut milk
• Chopped fresh Coriander, to garnish.
• Basmati rice, Naan Bread to serve.

METHOD:

• Prepare your sweet potatoes and tomatoes, ready to add them when required.

• Heat a tablespoon of oil in the saucepan, and add the onions. Cook for 4-5 minutes until they start to soften.
• Add the garlic and ginger and stir in. Reduce the heat slightly

 

• Add all the spices, and stir in.
• Stir in the Sweet Potatoes, the Red Lentils, and the Tomatoes, mix well  so that everything is coated with the onion/spice mix.
• Add the hot stock (300ml)
• Add the Coconut milk.

• Bring the whole pot to a simmer, and cook -uncovered – for 30-35 minutes, stirring regularly, until the Lentils and Sweet Potatoes are cooked (test them with the tip of a sharp knife)
• ** To get ahead – prepare the curry to this stage, then leave it, covered, for re-heating later on** If you’re freezing half, divide the Curry in 2, then cool, label, and freeze for up to a month.
• Taste for seasoning.
• Serve with plain Basmati rice, and Naan bread.

NOTES: 

• I cut my Sweet Potatoes into quite large chunks, which took quite a while to cook. Having said that, I wasn’t simmering the curry as strongly I should have (I wasn’t in any hurry) I quite liked the large chunks – it gave definition to the dish. If you want to eat soon, make sure your pot is on a steady simmer, and stir it fairly regularly. Or pre-cook the Sweet Potatoes and add them to the pan.
• This is a really good recipe to have up your sleeve if Vegetarians come to call.
• Apologies for the lack of ‘finished product’ photographs! I’m a sucker for anything with Coconut milk in it, so we had it beaten into us, and the kitchen tidied away before I even thought about photographs! I suppose that’s an indication of how much we enjoyed it. I’ll definitely be making this again, so I hope to add proper photographs at a later date!