This lentil, chickpea and sweet potato curry is a little twist to my cauliflower curry recipe. Loaded with nutritious ingredients, and subtly flavored with Indian spices, it makes a very satisfying and healthy weeknight meal. Naturally vegan and gluten-free, the recipe is easily customizable.
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I’m here with another curry recipe, loaded with good-for-you ingredients and packed with wonderful flavors. I’m always up for a curry, and I like to play with variations to always keep it vegan or at least veggie-oriented. The key is the right balance of spices, and a little of magic too!
This one features roasted sweet potatoes among plenty of other veggies, lentils for a good share of vegetarian protein, and some roasted chickpeas on top. I also played with the spices a little bit, and added some mustard seeds. It makes it very unique and absolutely delicious, garnished with fresh cilantro, served with a side of jasmine rice and naan bread.
Main ingredients for sweet potato curry
- Sweet potatoes*. Choose them medium in size, you don’t want to overload your curry.
- Back lentils (beluga) or alternatively puys lentils. You can pre-cook them in advance or use them canned for a quicker version. Note that you need 8.8 ounces (250g) cooked lentils for this recipe, which is approximately 4.4 ounces (125g) dried lentils if you decide to cook them.
- Onion. You will need one medium yellow or white onion, thinly diced.
- Baby spinach*. I prefer fresh baby spinach over frozen spinach in this recipe.
- Cherry tomatoes. They’re optional in the recipe and you can go without them if you wish, especially if they are not in season where you live.
- Diced tomatoes, canned. Alternatively you can use crushed tomatoes but I find that the diced ones bring more texture to the curry.
- Chickpeas. We do not use them in the curry, but to garnish the curry when serving. These spicy and crispy chickpeas bring an original touch to the recipe, and also makes it very satisfying and nutritious.
*A quick possible variation: replace the sweet potatoes with diced butternut squash! You could also replace the spinach with kale.
Add a protein! If you are not exclusively vegan, I recommend you add some diced paneer to the curry. I did the test and it’s really amazing! Just don’t forget to stir-fry the paneer first.
The choice of spices is crucial
This is true for any curry recipe. The choice of spices is what brings all the flavors to a curry recipe and basically makes the difference between a great one and a good one.
In this version inspired from my comforting cauliflower curry recipe, I added black mustard seeds and stir-fried them gently in vegetable oil to bring up their flavors. Black mustard seeds are often used in the Indian cuisine and the ones I recommend for this recipe. As they can be hard to find, you can replace them with yellow mustards seeds if needed. I also replaced ground coriander and cumin with the whole seeds in this recipe.
How to make this lentil sweet potato curry?
Because a picture a video is worth a thousand words, I suggest you watch my cauliflower curry video. This sweet potato version is based on the same principle, with just a few tweaks to the recipe, sweet potatoes replacing the cauliflower, while the choice of spices is slightly different. Other than that, the video tutorial will guide you through the steps and you will soon notice how easy it is to make this lentil sweet potato curry.
The best way to serve this sweet potato curry
I highly recommend you serve this lentil sweet potato curry with roasted chickpeas. This is a little twist to any traditional curry recipe that I borrowed from HBH’s Thai curry recipe (note that mine is Indian-inspired, not Thai). I found the idea brilliant, and believe me, it really makes the recipe amazing!
Other than that, I suggest you serve this sweet potato curry with a side of jasmine rice and some lightly toasted naan bread (I usually drizzle with a little bit of olive oil and then pop it in the oven on the grill position for a couple of minutes, watching closely as it can burn very quickly). Garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy warm!
More Indian-inspired recipes you will love:
- Comforting Cauliflower Lentil Curry
- Vegan Indian Mango Butternut Squash Curry
- Creamy Coconut Lentil Curry
- Mango Curry with Tofu
Finish dinner on a sweet note
I don’t know about you but after a spicy meal, I always crave for something sweet to satisfy your sweet tooth. Find below a few dessert ideas that will end up your dinner beautifully:
Lentil, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry
- Prep Time: 45 mins
- Cook Time: 1 hour
- Total Time: 1 hour 45 minutes
- Yield: 6 servings 1x
- Category: Savory
- Cuisine: World Cuisine
- Diet: Vegan
This lentil, chickpea and sweet potato curry is a little twist to my cauliflower curry recipe. Loaded with nutritious ingredients, and subtly flavored with Indian spices, it makes a very satisfying and healthy weeknight meal.
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Ingredients
For the sweet potato curry:
- 3 medium sweet potatoes, peeled and diced
- 2 Tablespoon vegetable oil, divided
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds, crushed
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon black or yellow mustard seeds
- 1 yellow onion, diced
- 3 cloves garlic, crushed
- 1 Tablespoon curry powder
- ½ Tablespoon garam masala powder
- ½ Tablespoon turmeric powder
- 1 teaspoon cinnamon powder
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 large can (800g) diced tomatoes
- 1 handful cherry tomatoes (optional)*
- 1 can (400 ml) coconut milk
- 1 can (250g) cooked brown lentils**
- 2 cups (100g) fresh spinach
For the spiced chickpeas:
- 1 15-ounce (400g) can chickpeas, drained, rinsed and dried
- 1 Tablespoon olive oil
- 1 Tablespoon paprika powder
To serve:
- Basmati or jasmine rice
- Naan bread
- Fresh cilantro, chopped
Instructions
- Preheat the oven to 400°F (210°C).
- Toss the diced sweet potatoes with one Tablespoon of oil until coated. Spread evenly on a baking tray lined with baking paper or tinfoil. Roast for 30-40 minutes, stirring a few times while roasting.
- In a large pot on medium heat, heat olive oil and gently stir-fry the mustard seeds, coriander and cumin seeds until fragrant, about 2 minutes. Add the onions and sauté until soft and slightly golden. Add the garlic, all the remaining spices, stir and cook until fragrant, about 1 minutes. If needed, add splashes of water to prevent burning or sticking in the pot.
- Add the can of diced tomatoes, the cherry tomatoes (if using), and stir to combine everything. Allow to simmer for 5 minutes.
- Finally, add the coconut milk, lentils, spinach, and roasted sweet potatoes, and mix until everything is combined and heated through, about 5 minutes.
- In a medium bowl, mix the drained, rinsed and dried chickpeas with 1 Tablespoon paprika powder. Heat one Tablespoon olive oil in a cast iron pan or a heavy bottom frying pan, then add the chickpeas and cook for about 5 minutes, stirring often, until fragrant. Serve the sweet potato curry with basmati or jasmine rice, top with the spiced chickpeas, garnish with fresh cilantro and enjoy with naan bread!
Notes
* Cherry tomatoes are optional, and you can absolutely omit them from the recipe, especially if they are not in season when you make the curry.
** Note that you need 8.8 ounces (250g) cooked lentils for this recipe, which is approximately 4.4 ounces (125g) dried lentils if you decide to cook them.
This recipe was partly inspired from Half Baked Harvest and revisited into an Indian-inspired version (versus a Thai version).
Did you make this recipe?
Lastly, if you make this Lentil, Chickpea and Sweet Potato Curry, be sure to leave a comment and give this recipe a rating, letting me know how you liked it. And of course, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Thank you and enjoy!
Rob B
Preparation was straight-forward and result delicious. Followed recipe to the letter but forgot the salt (easily added before serving) and did not have fresh spinach leaves. Loved the simplicity of the spicy chickpea component. Served with homemade yogurt and mango chutney. Left-overs will keep for another meal and it will probably be even tastier.