COURSE Main Course
SERVES 4 - 6
TIME About 30 minutes
Cooking Tips: The Moroccan inspiration of this recipe comes from the Ras Al Hanout spice mix. It can go quite nicely in various vegetarian dishes. This curry can be a vegetarian meal by itself, or it can go along with a baked tilapia fillet.
Ingredients:
1 Tbsp coconut oil
1 medium onion, diced
1 cup dried lentils, red lentils are easiest to cook, but others will do with a little longer time.
1 medium sweet potato, cut into ½-inch cubes
2 medium carrots, chopped
1 Tbsp Ras al Hanout spice mix (see below)
3 cups vegetable broth (chicken broth or water can also work)
1 14.5oz can coconut milk
Parsley, chopped (optional)
Ras al Hanout spice mix:
1 teaspoon black pepper
1 teaspoon cardamom
1/4 teaspoon cayenne
1/4 teaspoon ginger powder
1/4 teaspoon nutmeg
1/4 teaspoon cinnamon
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
Directions:
Heat the oil in a large pot over medium heat. Saute the onion until it's turning a little golden. Add in sweet potatoes and carrots.
Stir in the Ras al Hanout spice mix to combine evenly.
Add the lentil, water or broth and bring to a boil. Reduce the heat to a simmer and cook for 15 minutes, or until the lentils and sweet potato are tender. Stir in the coconut milk. Serve.
Recipe Inspiration:
This recipe is inspired by "Easy, Lentil, Sweet Potato & Coconut Curry" recipe posted on DetoxInista.
The Ras al Hanout Spice Mix recipe is from "Moroccan Chickpea Barley Salad" recipe posted on Simplyrecipes.com
The Back Story:
I accidentally discovered this flavor when I ran out of cumin, which I have always thought of as the backbone of curry. However, as I googled "Curry", Wikipedia returned the following definition:
"Curry is a variety of dishes originating in the Indian subcontinent that use a complex combination of spices or herbs, usually including ground turmeric, cumin, coriander, ginger, and fresh or dried chilies."
Turmeric, cumin, ginger, and dried chilies (cayenne), I think I met the criteria of curry with the Ras al Hanout spice mix.
A couple years ago, I made a big batch of the Ras al Hanout spice mix after I made the Moroccan Chickpea Barley Salad. That was a wonderful dish, and was very well received by friends and family members. While my children did not appreciate the taste at the time, there were enough positive reviews that led me believe that I will make this dish many times more. However, I have only made this dish once since I made the batch of spice mix. The spice mix was forgotten and got pushed into the back corner of my condiment cabinet.
After running out of cumin and with quite a few cups of lentils left in my pantry, I decided to give the Ras al Hanout a try. After all, people liked it in the salad. How bad can it be? The Ras al Hanout curry is wonderful. The dish is heart warming, especially in a rainy fall or winter day. Since I rediscovered this flavor, I have experienced several more dishes with it. If you are looking for ways to use up your spice mix, I am posting the recipes under "Moroccan Inspired" titles.
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