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. 

Here Comes the Sun: Tunisian Vegetable Stew from the Moosewood Restaurant

"And all was light": That about sums up my feelings about this golden-hued Tunisian Vegetable Stew from Moosewood Restaurant Cooks at Home. This was one of the dishes I started making last summer that made me think that going vegan wouldn't be so impossible after all. For all its humble ingredients and simple cooking method, it was revelatory.

One of the first things I discovered about eating vegetarian or vegan is that trying to emulate meat-based dishes will usually leave you disappointed. It's far better to look for new recipes and dishes that you've never tried before, dishes that make vegetables shine on their own instead of warping them into flavors they don't naturally have.

This African-style stew is a perfect example of this. This is what happens when you take fresh, healthy vegetables; cook them properly; and spice the hell out of them: satisfying, flavorful magic.

This recipe requires some chopping and some waiting as each round of ingredients softens, but, really, as far as soups go, this one is incredibly low maintenance and pretty quick to knock off. (I won't repost the recipe here because I follow the recipe linked above very closely, with the exception of leaving out the currants.)

What makes this stew "Tunisian"? Well, I'm obviously no expert on African cooking, but all of the spices (cayenne, turmeric, and coriander) are common to Indian cooking, except for the cinnamon. I know, I know, it sounds crazy--cinnamon in a savory dish?--but it adds a subtle, sweet, exotic fragrance to the otherwise spicy, tomato-rich sauce that makes it addictive. You can't help but want to eat more, and more, and more of the stuff.

Until, of course, it fills you up. Which it does admirably, especially at only . . . (wait for it) . . . 150 calories per cup serving. That's right, folks, you can easily go in for seconds on this one. I tend to make it on Sundays and eat it all week at work for lunch. I've tried it with rice and pita bread, but so far I like it best with a hunk of cornbread. (The dairy-free variety, of course!)

Also, can I just say that cabbage is a shockingly underrated vegetable. It plays so nicely with spicy flavors, and it's filling and nutritious, and coleslaw exists, and . . . Wait, I'll stop there.  It definitely deserves an ingredient profile of its own!