Lentil curry with sweet potatoes and carrots

Ingredients for 6 servings:

• 500 g lentils, red
• 2 carrots
• 1 small sweet potato(s)
• 3 onions
• 3 cloves garlic
• 3 cm ginger
• 1 small piece(s) of turmeric
• 1 chili or 3 dried chili peppers
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 bunch of parsley
• 500 ml vegetable stock
• 1 can coconut milk, 400 g
• 2 tbsp tomato paste
• 1 tbsp black cumin
• 1 tbsp turmeric
• ½ tsp cardamom
• 1 tsp sweet paprika powder
• curry powder
• Salt
• pepper
• lemon juice
• oil

Instructions

Working time approx. 15 minutes; Cooking/baking time approx. 25 minutes; Total time approx. 40 minutes

Peel the carrots, sweet potato, onion, garlic, ginger, and turmeric. If you can’t find fresh turmeric, it’s not necessary, but it adds a different flavor to just using turmeric powder. Cut the carrots, sweet potato, and tomatoes into approximately 1 cm pieces. Roughly dice the onion. Dice the ginger, turmeric, and garlic as finely as possible. Chop the fresh chili pepper as well. However, I prefer to use small dried chili peppers, which I cut into the pot with scissors; they add a pleasant heat and infuse the sauce better. Heat 1 tablespoon of neutral-tasting oil in a large pot and sauté the onions, garlic, chilies (dried or fresh), ginger, and turmeric cubes. When the onions are translucent, add the carrots and sweet potatoes and sauté them as well. Before the vegetables begin to sauté, add the spices, mix well with the vegetables, and sauté briefly. This allows their flavor to develop much more effectively than if they were added later. Tip: If you don’t have black cumin or turmeric on their own, you can simply use more curry powder of your choice. However, I recommend getting small amounts of both. Black cumin, in particular, goes well with many dishes. Then add the dry lentils and sauté them briefly. Then add the tomato paste and mix well; it’s okay to fry this a bit. Deglaze with the stock and stir well—the lentils tend to burn, especially at the beginning—and bring everything to a boil. Then reduce the heat to medium, add the tomatoes and coconut milk, and simmer for about 10-15 minutes, stirring frequently. During this time, chop the parsley—but add it at the end. Depending on the type of lentil used, the curry will then have a very pasty consistency or the lentils will still be firm to the bite. If the consistency is too thick, simply add a little more water. If it’s too runny, add a few more lentils—but bring them back to a boil. Finally, season with salt, pepper, and a little lemon juice (a little acidity is very important to round out the flavor!), and perhaps some spices. It’s perfectly fine to eat with bread or, to go with the curry, naan. There are some great naan recipes here, and you can quickly cook them in a pan while the curry simmers. If you like meat, you can chop chicken breast, season it with a little curry, and sear it until crispy, then add it to the curry, or serve it as a topping. I don’t think that’s necessary, though, as the curry itself is already intensely flavorful. This curry is perfect for eating straight away, but it’s also easy to prepare and tastes great and completely different left to stand the next day, or even a few hours later.