This hearty and comforting dal is loaded with extra vegetables like chickpeas, roast cauliflower and roast sweet potato. A delicious wholefood plant-based dinner served over basmati rice and garnished with fresh lime, coriander and yogurt. The ingredients list is long but don’t let that put you off – about 1/3 of the ingredients are spices, it is quite straightforward. Plus, this recipe makes a big batch and is freezer friendly.
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Why You’ll Love This Recipe
- Perfect for a hearty and satisfying dinner after a long day, it’s comforting but nutritious with lots of veggies.
- It has a couple of steps but is straightforward. And even though ingredient list might look a bit long, but don’t worry, about a third of it is just spices.
- Roasting the cauliflower and sweet potato takes it to the next level. Trust me, it’s worth the extra step for the light caramelized flavors.
- It makes a big batch, which I love. I always pop leftovers in the freezer – it reheats well.
Ingredients You’ll Need
Full measurements are in the recipe card below, but here’s everything you’ll need. I know the list looks a bit long, but don’t worry—about a third of it’s just spices (hello, flavor!) and it’s all super simple once you get going.
- Cauliflower
- Sweet potato
- Olive oil
- Red onion
- Garlic
- Fresh ginger
- Canned chickpeas
- Dried red lentils
- Vegetable stock powder
- Water
- Bay leaves
- Tomato paste
- Soy sauce
- Coconut milk
- Baby spinach
- Lime
- Cooked basmati rice
- Coconut yogurt
- Fresh chilli (optional)
- Cilantro
- Garam masala
- Curry powder
- Ground coriander
- Turmeric
- Cumin
- Cayenne pepper
Instructions
Here’s a quick photo guide on how to make this Roast Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Dal. You’ll find all the exact times, temperatures, and measurements in the recipe card below.
Step One: Start by roasting your veggies. Toss the cauliflower and sweet potato in a little olive oil and spices.
Step Two: In a pot, sauté your onion until soft, then toss in the garlic, ginger, chickpeas and spices.
Step Three: Stir in the tomato paste, water, stock powder, soy sauce, and lentils. Give it a good mix, pop a lid on, and let it simmer until the lentils are soft.
Step Four: Once the lentils are tender, stir in the coconut milk and spinach.
Step Five: Once the spinach has wilted, add in the roasted cauliflower and sweet potato. Add lime juice to taste, and adjust seasoning with salt or soy sauce if needed.
Step Six: Spoon it over a bed of basmati rice or serve with naan, then top with a dollop of coconut yogurt, a wedge of lime, and a sprinkle of fresh coriander.
Storage
- For optimal freshness: If you’re storing leftovers, separate the dal from the rice. This will keep the rice from getting soggy. Store them in separate containers to maintain the best texture when reheating.
- Garnishes: Keep the garnishes, like lime, cilantro, and yogurt separate until you’re ready to serve. Adding them fresh will keep things tasting vibrant and flavorful.
Expert Tips
Don’t skip roasting the cauliflower and sweet potato! Boiling will not give you the same rich flavor – in the oven they turn caramelized and sweet which adds so much flavor to the final dish.
FAQ
Absolutely. This dal arguably actually gets better the next day. Store it in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days, or freeze it for up to 3 months. When you reheat, just add a splash of water to bring it back to its creamy texture.
I haven’t experimented too much with other veggies, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work. Feel free to swap in any veggies you like, such as carrots, zucchini, or pumpkin. This recipe is super flexible, so you can customize it based on what you’ve got on hand.
Serving Suggestions and More Recipes
If you loved this, you might also enjoy my vegan chickpea curry (it’s another weeknight favorite), or my vegan tikka masala.
Serve over basmati rice and enjoy! If you like this recipe, please leave a comment and star rating below. You can also tag me on Instagram @glowdiaries___ and I will share your post to my stories 🙂
Roasted Cauliflower & Sweet Potato Dal
Ingredients
Dhal
- 1/2 head cauliflower broken into florets; 400g
- 1 sweet potato medium, diced into 1¼-inch chunks; 250g
- 3 tablespoon olive oil
- 1 red onion diced; 150g
- 4 cloves garlic minced
- 2 tablespoon fresh ginger grated or minced; 28g
- 1 can chickpeas 15 oz, drained and rinsed; 265g drained weight
- 2 cups red lentils dried; 384g
- 5 cups water
- 2 bay leaves whole
- 1/2 cup tomato paste 130g
- 3 0.5 soy sauce
- 1 can coconut milk 13.5 oz, full-fat, well shaken; 400ml or 368g
- 2.5 cups baby spinach leaves fresh, loosely packed; 75g
- 1 lime juiced; 2–3 tbsp or 30–45ml
- 0.5 tablespoon extra olive oil for sautéing
- 2 teaspoon vegetable stock powder
Spices
- 1 tablespoon garam masala 6g
- 2 teaspoon curry powder 4g
- 2 teaspoon ground coriander 4g
- 2 teaspoon turmeric 4g
- 2 teaspoon ground cumin 4g
- ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper 0.5g
- 1 teaspoon vegetable stock powder for spice blend
To Serve
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice 340g cooked
- coconut yoghurt to serve, optional
- 1 lime cut into wedges
- 1 fresh chili finely sliced, optional
Instructions
- Preheat oven to 425°F (220°C). Line two baking sheets.
- In a small bowl, combine garam masala, curry powder, coriander, turmeric, cumin, cayenne, and 2 tsp vegetable stock powder.
- Toss cauliflower and sweet potato separately with 1 tablespoon olive oil and ½ tablespoon spice mix each, spread on baking sheets, drizzle with another ½ tablespoon olive oil, and roast – cauliflower for 25–30 minutes and sweet potato for 35–40 minutes, flipping halfway.
- In a large pot, heat ½ tbsp olive oil over medium heat. Add onion and cook 2–3 minutes. Stir in garlic, ginger, chickpeas, bay leaves, and remaining spice mix. Cook 1 minute.
- Add lentils, water, tomato paste, soy sauce, and 2 tsp vegetable stock powder. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, covered, for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Remove bay leaves. Stir in coconut milk and spinach until wilted. Gently fold in roasted vegetables. Off heat, stir in lime juice to taste. Adjust seasoning as needed.
- Spoon over rice and top with coconut yogurt, lime wedges, and chili if using.
K says
Made this dish 2 nights ago, and my meat eating husband loved this dish. I also loved it and it makes a ton. We had it for dinner 2 nights and I had a small bowl for lunch, still at least 2 meals left. I have frozen the rest and will have again next week. So delicious, thank you.
Liz Douglas says
so happy you both loved it K!
Cille says
Soooooooooo goooood!☺️
Sarah says
This was delicious! I can’t eat onions so I left them out and it was still wonderful and was great for meal prep as there was quite a bit of food. Thanks!
Liz Douglas says
so glad you enjoyed it!! love that it still worked well without the onions. thanks for trying it out! 🙂
Kayla says
Wish I could give this recipe TEN stars because it deserves it! Super easy to make, took me about two hours and the result is incredible. Perfectly spiced and super flavorful, genuinely one of the best and most savory dishes I have ever made and had! I added carrots and that really tied in well. Thank you for such an amazing recipe!
Liz Douglas says
aw Kayla this made me smile, thank you so much for the kind words. 🙂 i’m sooo happy you loved it.
Georgia says
Made this..fabulous!!
Thank you.
Was wanting to know if could freeze without rice just all the ingredients.
Thank you
Georgia.
Liz Douglas says
so glad you like it Georgia! 🙂 yes you can freeze it without the rice. just cool it down first, pop it in a container, and it’ll reheat beautifully
Aoife Lyons says
Delish when made, fresh… did the cauliflower in the air fryer and overcooked then … need to investigate timings with that. Makes a huge portion.. unfortunately not as tasty reheated.
Liz Douglas says
thanks for trying this one out Aoife! air fryers can be tricky with timing so I get that. glad you liked it 🙂
Elyna Angelic says
I made this tonight and OmG. It’s the best dhal I have tasted yet. It’s easy to make, delicious to eat and I highly recommend you try it. It looks like it’s going to be a long winded recipe but it actually isn’t. My tip is to get all your spices mixed first.
Liz Douglas says
Hi Elyna so glad you loved it! mixing the spices first is such a good tip 🙂
Tine says
i’ve made this dish before, and omg it’s become a regular in my meal lineup. hearty, comforting, and i think the leftovers taste even better 😍