Slow Cooker Lentil Sweet Potato Dhal

This slow cooker dhal uses red lentils and sweet potato for a creamy, filling texture without fuss. Add spices, tomatoes and coconut milk, then let the slow cooker do the work. Finish with lemon for brightness, stir in spinach if you like, and portion for lunches.

Course Main Course

Cuisine Asian, Indian

Diet Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian

Keyword coconut milk, lentil dhal, meal prep, slow cooker, sweet potato

Prep Time 10

Cook Time 7

Total Time 7 10

Servings Servings

Calories 778

Author Kitchen Team @ Spooning and Forking

Ingredients

250 g red split lentils
500 g sweet potato peeled and cut into 2 cm cubes
1 onion large, finely chopped (about 200 g)
3 cloves garlic finely chopped
2 tsp Fresh Ginger finely grated
2 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
½ tsp chilli flakes optional
1 tbsp tomato purée
400 g chopped tomatoes 400 g tin
400 g light coconut milk 400 ml tin
600 ml vegetable stock or water plus 1 low-salt stock cube
1 tsp fine sea salt plus more to taste
Black pepper
200 g baby spinach optional, stirred in at the end
1 lemon juiced
20 g fresh coriander chopped

To serve

250 g rice cooked, brown rice or basmati rice
4 tbsp yoghurt or coconut yoghurt
4 tbsp mango chutney or lime pickle, optional

US Customary - Metric

Instructions

Prep the base

Rinse the lentils in a sieve until the water runs mostly clear.
Add lentils, sweet potato, onion, garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander, turmeric, chilli flakes, tomato purée, chopped tomatoes, coconut milk and stock to the slow cooker. Stir well and season with 1 tsp salt and black pepper.

Cook low and slow

Cook on LOW for 6 to 7 hours or HIGH for 3 to 4 hours until the sweet potato is tender and the lentils have broken down into a thick dhal.
Stir once or twice if you are around, but it will cope if you are not.

Finish for flavour

Stir well to break up any remaining sweet potato chunks, they should mash easily. If using spinach, stir it in and let it wilt for 2 minutes.
Add lemon juice and taste for salt. Finish with chopped coriander.

Notes

Rinse the red lentils well until the water runs mostly clear. It stops them turning gummy and helps the dhal taste clean rather than dusty. Sweet potato cubes should be fairly small so they soften properly in the slow cooker without needing extra time.

Coconut milk adds body and makes the spices feel rounded. Light coconut milk keeps the fat lower, but full-fat is lovely if you want a richer bowl. If you cannot do coconut, use 200 ml crème fraîche at the end, or a mix of oat cream and a squeeze of lemon for brightness.

Nutrition