Vegetable Dhansak

Ingredients

2 tbsp olive oil

1 onion, peeled and finely chopped

garlic (2x cloves), finely chopped

1 carrot, peeled, sliced and quartered

1 medium sweet potato, peeled and cubed

1 red pepper, diced and seeded

2 large tomatoes, chopped

100g red lentils

50g green beans, halved

50g – 75g sprouts, halved

1 tbsp ground ginger

¼ tsp turmeric

½ tsp ground cumin

1 tsp garam masala

½ tbsp mild curry powder

300ml vegetable stock

1 tbsp tomato puree

Method

Put the lentils in a bowl and allow to soak in cold water for about 5 minutes and then drain

Heat the oil in a large pan until it’s hot and smoking. Cook the onion, garlic and ginger until the onion softens

If you want to include some meat, e.g. chicken, beef or pork, add it to the pan at this point and cook for a few minutes until browned. If you want to put lamb in, you’ll have to find a different recipe, as lamb takes longer to cook.

Add the carrot, sweet potato and pepper and cook for a further 5 minutes

Add the turmeric, cumin, garam masala and curry powder and cook for another minute or two

Stir in the lentils, stock, tomato puree and tomatoes and then cover with a lid and simmer for around 15-20 minutes

Add the green beans and sprouts, allow to cook for another 10 - 15 minutes without the lid

Optional - scatter with coriander and serve