Daal-icious: Lentil and Sweet Potato Stew from EHH

Ha ha ha ha ha! Ha ha ha! Ha ha . . . *wipes tears of laughter away* Ha . . . *sighs* Ha.

Now that that unavoidable pun is out of the way, let me tell you about daal.

Is your mouth watering? Because my mouth is watering. 

Daal (sometimes spelled dal or dahl) is a thick, spicy lentil stew that's usually served served over rice or another grain. Daals are common to a lot of eastern and middle eastern cuisines, and they come in a lot of different varieties. What they all have in common is that they're delicious and economical and make fantastic leftovers.

Red lentils. 

I love this simple sweet potato version from the Everyday Happy Herbivore cookbook. (Jeez, Lesley, fangirl, much?)  It's pretty straightforward to make--just double the recipe and give yourself 45 minutes for veggie prep, cook time, and the simmer at the end, and you'll have a delicious dinner and lunch for the week!

Chopped acorn squash and sweet potatoes. And my slippers.

Also, I say this in the most flattering way possible, but this daal might as well be made of ground brick because of how wonderfully filling it is! I love having it for lunch because it leaves me stuffed until I walk home at the end of the day, which is a rare and wonderful thing. Either quinoa or brown rice taste great with it, so it's easy to ladle over with whatever grain you have on hand.

Sweet potato and acorn squash daal with none of the trimmings.

This is also a recipe that's very easy to fiddle with in case you want to sneak some supplementary vegetables into it or if you need to trade out one or two of the pantry staples. For example, brown lentils taste even better than the red in this recipe, in my opinion, though they take longer to cook. Kale or chard could take the place of the spinach easily. And I've used half of an acorn squash along with the sweet potatoes, and it tastes even better that way!

Daal with quinoa already mixed in.

Finally, if you've never tried garam masala before, today is the day. It's a blend of spices common in Indian cooking. It's somewhat similar to curry powder but tends to be more aromatic because it includes cardamom, cloves, and cinnamon. (Also, the store-bought blends I've tried are less spicy than curries, though that definitely depends on what brand you get.)

You can make your own blend of garam masala to taste, pick it up in the Asian section of your grocery store, or purchase an array of blends at your local Indian market. Trust me: it's absolutely worth the $3 it'll cost you to have it on hand--I use it in just about everything these days!

Daal with brown basmati rice, cilantro, and sriracha!

Note: I saw Mac Demarco in concert last week. He is awesome and crazy and a little creepy and I'm weirdly in love with European Vegas. If you're into nostalgic, grainy indie rock, you should definitely check him out.