CHANA DHAL AND SWEET POTATO CURRY

I was first introduced to cooking chana dhal – which is also widely known as split yellow lentils – by my lovely friend and MasterChef winner Saliha Mahmood Ahmed. I’d eaten the dish before but had never cooked it at home. Now it’s nearly always on the menu at my house. The lentils’ texture in this curry is just fabulous and combined with sweet potato, you have a curry which the whole family will love.

SERVES 6 SOAKING: 1 HOUR 200g chana dhal (split yellow lentils) 15-30ml (1-2 T) olive oil 2 onions, thinly sliced 4 garlic cloves, crushed 1 thumb-sized piece of fresh ginger, grated 30ml (2T) tikka masala curry paste 15ml (1 heaped T) garam masala 5ml (1t) ground turmeric 5ml (1t) yellow mustard seeds 15ml (1T) tomato purée 1 × 400g can of chopped tomatoes 400g sweet potatoes, peeled and cubed 500ml (2c) boiling vegetable stock if using the conventional method or 250ml (1c) for the slow cooker method salt and freshly ground black pepper pinch of castor sugar (if necessary) 2 generous handfuls of baby spinach TO SERVE

boiled basmati rice

CONVENTIONAL METHOD COOKING: 2½ HOURS

1 Soak the lentils in cold

water for 1 hour. 2 Preheat the oven to

160°C, gas mark 3. 3 Heat the oil in a large heavy-based casserole dish with lid over very low heat. Add the sliced onions and cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently, then add the garlic and ginger and cook for another 2-3 minutes. Drain the lentils and add to the dish, along with the tikka masala paste, spices, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, sweet potatoes and 500ml (2c) of stock. Bring to a simmer. 4 Cover with a lid, then transfer to the oven and cook for 2 hours. Halfway through the cooking time, give it a stir and add a little more stock if needed. If you prefer a thicker dhal, remove the lid, transfer the dish to the hob and cook over medium heat for a further 5-10 minutes. 5 Just before serving, season with salt, pepper and a pinch of sugar if needed, then stir through the spinach until wilted. Serve with a side of basmati rice.

SLOW COOKER METHOD COOKING: 7 HOURS

1 Follow steps 1 and 3 as per the conventional method, then transfer the simmering curry to your slow cooker. Put the lid on and cook on the low setting for 7 hours. 2 Follow step 5 as per the

conventional method.