Here’s an easy and delicious weeknight recipe: Sweet Potato and Vaal Dal Curry. Vaal is a beloved legume on India’s west coast. A small bean that’s more round than oval, it has a hard beige coat that is pretty much inedible, unlike the coats of most common beans and legumes. But inside this tough coat sits a soft, creamy core. Peeled val cooks up quickly and easily into a pleasant, buttery, very slightly bitter flavor that’s absolutely addictive. Vaal (hyacinth beans) are easily found at Indian stores here in the United States and you can usually buy the whole vaal, skin and all, or just the “dal”: the split legume with the outer coat removed. I like keeping both on hand. The whole vaal, when you have the time to sprout it and then peel the coat off (yes, you have to do it one bean at a time), is gorgeous in dishes like this Hyacinth Beans Masala Rice Pilaf, a recipe I make over and over again. The dal is a harried cook’s best friend because it cooks up in a jiffy– quicker than most lentils, in fact. I use it to make weeknight recipes like this one I have for you today. Check to get new recipe updates by email.
I thought it would be a good idea to combine sweet potatoes and vaal because of the complementary flavors: sweet and bitter. To the dal I also added some fiery, grated ginger and a few splashes of lemon juice. All those flavors worked together really well.
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