Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Pot

Name: Red Lentil & Sweet Potato Pot
Total time: 60 min
Yield: 2 servings
Ingredients: 150 g Dried red lentils; 250 g Sweet potato; 150 g Onion; 200 g Canned crushed tomatoes; 2 cloves Garlic; 10 g Fresh ginger; 1.5 tsp Berbere spice blend; 1 tbsp Neutral cooking oil; 100 g Long grain rice; 790 ml Water; 0.5 tsp Salt

Soft red lentils and sweet-potato cubes settle into a warm berbere tomato sauce, with a small serving of rice alongside.

60 minutes · Easy · 2 servings

Original house recipe · Not yet kitchen-tested

Ingredients

Dried red lentils150 g
Sweet potato250 g
Onion150 g
Canned crushed tomatoes200 g
Garlic2 cloves
Fresh ginger10 g
Berbere spice blend1.5 tsp
Neutral cooking oil1 tbsp
Long grain rice100 g
Water790 ml
Salt0.5 tsp

Quantities describe recipe usage, not package sizes.

Allergen notes

Check the berbere blend for mustard and other allergens.

Method

Prepare the vegetables and lentils

Pick over and rinse the lentils. Peel the sweet potato and cut into 1.5 cm cubes. Peel and finely chop the onion, garlic and ginger. Heat the oil in a medium heavy saucepan and soften the onion over medium-low heat for 8–10 minutes.

Build a gentle spice base

Stir the garlic and ginger into the onion for 1 minute. Add the berbere and stir for 20 seconds, then immediately add the tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the lentils, sweet potato, 500 ml water and salt.

Simmer until thoroughly soft

Bring to a gentle simmer, cover with the lid slightly ajar and cook for 25–30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes and scraping the base. The lentils should be completely soft and mostly broken down, and the sweet potato easily pierced. If the mixture thickens before everything is tender, add some or all of the reserved 50 ml water.

Cook a small batch of rice

While the lentils simmer, rinse the rice and place in a small saucepan with the remaining 240 ml water. Bring to a boil, cover and cook over the lowest heat for 15–18 minutes, until tender and the water has been absorbed. Rest covered off the heat for 5 minutes.

Serve the thick pot

If needed, uncover the lentil pot for its final 2–3 minutes to thicken it; it should spoon easily rather than pour like soup. Divide the rice and lentil mixture between two bowls and serve hot without extra toppings.

Use split red lentils, not whole green lentils. Sweet potato supplies body and a gentle contrast to berbere; the modest rice portion is already included.

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