Ethiopian-style Lentils With Yams (or Sweet Potatoes)

The best thing about this recipe is the spice mixture --- I had never used fenugreek and it plays nicely off of cinnamon and allspice (yum!). Rather than split red lentils, I used whole green lentils, which worked fine --- I just increased the cooking time a little. I also doubled the proportion of lentils in the recipe, which worked well. (I think the pictured version also must have increased the lentil proportion from what is in the written recipe.) The sweet red pepper is the key to this recipe and ties everything together. Thanks so much for posting!

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What a wonderful (and healthy) recipe! I made this in my crockpot which took all of the guesswork out about what to add when. I used a whole sweet potato and 3 tablespoons of red lentils. I also added cayenne pepper, cardamom and some fresh spinach for color. I also had trouble finding fenugreek, but ended up finding it in a local Halal market but spelled "Funigric". I served it with Ethiopian Spiced Honey Bread. . .it was a great combination.

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Delicious! I doubled the recipe, omitted the fenugreek (since I didn't have any), and used about a cup of leftover canned diced tomatoes that was sitting in my fridge. Reduced the proportion of water to compensate. I also cooked the sweet potato in the oil for a bit before adding the onions and red pepper together, followed by the garlic (I can't stand the taste of burnt garlic). Only difference I'll make next time I do this (and there will be a next time) is get my hands on some fenugreek. Thank you for posting!

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Absolutely delish!!! The blend of spices is wonderful! I added the cayenne as suggested as an option, along w/ the soy & just a touch of fish sauce for saltiness. The only thing I would do differently would be to triple the recipe so I have lots of leftovers. Thank-you, catwolf!

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Great recipe. Unfortunately I couldn't find fenugreek, but I did add cardamom as I had seen it in the recipe for berbere sauce. I would do that again next time! I more than quadrupled the recipe so I had food for a few days, and used cayenne instead of paprika. Perfect spice level- gets the tongue tingling but wasn't too hot. Next time I would use a lot more lentils and less sweet potato, though. Made it with some injera and it was a fantastic meal! Thank you for posting!

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This is really good and low-cal, too! One comment - the cinnamon is listed in the ingredients, but I did not see where it was supposed to be added to the dish, so I just added it with the other spices.

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I didn't have cinnamon or coriander, so I used 1/4 tsp chili powder and it was pretty good. Also, I used whole green lentils, more than the recipe, and more tomato paste than called for and put it over quinoa. So good. Next time I will put more sweet potato in.

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Good dish. I used less liquid (and used broth), smoked paprika and added some cayenne.

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very good, unusual, will make it again.

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This was our first foray into Ethiopian style dishes. It was simple to make. We used the small pressure cooker, and think we cooked the lentils too far down, they lost their distinct shape. Ours also ended up being hot, as we inadvertently used the Half-Sharp paprika, however, I think much Ethiopian food is hot. We are going to try this again, with the regular paprika and do them less time under pressure and will report back.

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A keeper! I really liked this dish! I used sweet potatoes and served over rice. It is real comfort food!

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I tried this recipe initially to share with some vegan friends. I love this recipe and have used it several times now, even though I'm not vegan/vegetarian. :) Easy to prepare, a big hit with everyone who's tried it, and still works great left-over. It's not too spicy for me, full of flavor because of the spices.

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This was my first time making anything Ethiopian. Never used fenugreek before either. I made this for myself, as dh does't like sweet potato. I liked it. I did add a touch of cayenne. Thank you very much for this eye-opening recipe.

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This was great; easy to make and a tasty treat. I'll make it again and again.

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Wow! Everyone loved this. Lots of flavor. The fenugreek is a must...you can find it at any indian market. Also, just before serving I added some fresh lemon juice. I'm addicted. Thank you!!!

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Thank you so much for this delicious recipe! I'm trying to go vegetarian, and it's savory, satisfying recipes like this that really help me to be able to forego meat-based meals. The flavor was WONDERFUL (although I couldn't find Fenugreek at my regular grocery story so I had to do without it this time...I'll have to scout around the ethnic groceries) Thanks again ! I'll definitely be adding this to my meal rotation.

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My only regret is that I didn't make more of this; it was absolutely delicious! I didn't have any fenugreek, so I just increased all of the other spices, which worked fine. I also added some swiss chard and kale (I added the stalk part of the chard right after the peppers, and the greens at the very end)--worked nicely. I do think I would use a bit less water next time, since it turned out soupier than I had anticipated. I let some of the water boil off at the end and added a bit of bouillon powder for extra flavour. I also used more tomato paste than called for.

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One of those quick makes in under a 1/2 an hour. I made injera to go with this.

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