This sweet potato and coconut milk stew is a glowing and mellow shade of orange with big, vibrant pops of green from kale and cilantro. We use lots of chili and ginger in this stew, along with a bunch of other spices. You get sweetness, spice, earthy vibes, creaminess, satiating texture from the lentils, and a good squeeze of lime rounds everything out. Rounding it out is key.
If you count common spices as one component (I always do hehe), this recipe hits at around 10-ish ingredients. It’s very simple to make, definitely hearty, and super accommodating for different dietary sensitivities. If a stew could have it all, this would be IT. For my taste, it has just the right amount of richness–a real flavour bomb with a deep health glow. Just the kinda thing I’m after lately.
SERVES: 4-6
NOTES:
- Coconut milk is naturally sweet and so are sweet potatoes (obviously). I like to go in with a lot of dried chili to balance things out, but of course, add as much as you feel comfortable with.
- If you don’t have Chard or mustard greens would also be delicious in place of the kale.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil
- 1 medium yellow onion, small dice
- ½ – 1 teaspoon dried chili flakes (I used Diaspora Co’s ground Guntur Sannam Chilli)
- ½ teaspoon ground coriander
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ½ teaspoon ground turmeric
- 2-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and minced
- 3 garlic cloves, peeled and minced sea salt and ground black pepper, to taste
- 1 ½ lbs (690 grams or 2 medium) sweet potatoes, peeled and diced into 1-inch pieces
- ½ cup brown lentils, picked over
- 4 cups vegetable stock
- 13.5 oz (400 ml) can full fat coconut milk
- 1 small bunch of kale, stems removed & leaves chopped (about 4 cups chopped & lightly packed kale)
GARNISH:
- Chopped cilantro
- Extra chili flakes
- Lime wedges
- Nigella seeds (optional)
Heat a large, heavy-bottomed soup pot over medium heat. Add the coconut oil to the pot and let it melt. Add the onions to the pot and stir. Saute the onions, stirring occasionally, until translucent and quite soft, about 5 minutes. Add the chili flakes, coriander, cumin, and turmeric. Saute spices until very fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the ginger and garlic to the pot and cook for another minute. Add a pinch of salt and pepper.
Add the sweet potatoes to the pot and stir to coat in the spices. Add the lentils to the pot and stir once more. Season everything liberally with salt and pepper. Add the vegetable stock and stir, scraping up any browned bits on the bottom of the pot. Place the lid on top of the pot and bring to a boil.
Once the stew is boiling, lower the heat to a simmer and set the lid slightly askew on top of the pot so that there’s a couple inches available for steam to escape. Simmer until the sweet potatoes are almost falling apart and the lentils are tender, about 30 minutes. The liquid should also be reduced by almost a third.
Add the coconut milk and kale to the pot and stir. Place the lid on top and continue to simmer the stew until the kale is wilted and bright green, about 3-4 minutes. Season the sweet potato and coconut milk stew again with salt and pepper. Bring the stew back up to a strong simmer and check for seasoning. Adjust with more salt, pepper, chili etc. if necessary.