This is a great way to introduce curry into your babes diet. The cinnamon and veggies dial down the tone so don’t sorry – it’s hardly curry but a mild version of dhal that my babe can’t get enough of. Up to you how to want to serve this – pureed or textural or like a normal dhal. If that’s the case – chop the carrot and sweet potato into tiny cubes so that it blends well with the cooked split peas.
Note: this is one for babes 8 month +. Split peas are really high in fibre so can be quite hard to digest (even for some adults) so only serve legumes and dried beans once every two days kinda thing but don’t be scared! They are full of goodness (and can be a nice break from meat for dinner) so for sure give this a go…
Sweet Potato, Carrot & Tomato Dhal
Makes LOTS
Ingredients
- 1 1/2 cups yellow split peas
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 large sweet potato, peeled & chopped
- 2 carrots, peeled & chopped
- Handful of cherry tomatoes, halved
- 2tsp curry powder
- 1tsp cumin
- 1tsp cinnamon
- Stock or water
Method
Soak the split peas in a bowl of water while you chop you veg then rinse and drain. If you plan on pulsing this dhal to a smooth puree, don’t worry about how to chop the veg. If you want some texture then chop into tiny little cubes so your babe can easily figure it out.
Heat a glug of olive oil in a large pot then add your onion, sweet potato, carrot and tomatoes. After 10-15 minutes and when the onion and tomato have softened add the curry powder, cumin and cinnamon. Stir around for a few minutes or until you can smell the spices then add your split peas and cover with water or stock (should be around 500ml).
Bring to a boil then reduce to a really low simmer. If it gets a bit thick just add touches of water along the way then after 20-30 minutes taste to make sure the split peas and veggies are mushy then remove any amount that you want for yourself then pulse until you have your desired consistency.
Kitchen notes...
Feel free to add any veg here really – cauliflower or pumpkin would work well too.