Sweet, inviting, and made for sharing, Smoky Lentil and Sweet Potato Tacos is a vegan, vegetarian Indian Fusion entree made with dry lentils, water, and sweet potato or yam in about 55 minutes. The recipe lays out the ingredients and each cooking step clearly, so you can adjust seasoning, texture, and serving size for your own kitchen.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 5 minutes
  • Cook time: 50 minutes
  • Total time: 55 minutes
  • Yield: 8 tacos
  • Category: Entree
  • Cuisine: Indian Fusion

Ingredients

  • 1/2 cup dry lentils
  • 1 1/2 cups water
  • 1 sweet potato or yam (cubed (1 - 1 1/2 cups))
  • 1 Tbsp olive oil
  • 1/2 medium red onion (chopped (3/4 cup))
  • 1/2 tsp garlic powder
  • 1/2 tsp chipotle chili powder (or 1 chipotle chili in adobo sauce, chopped)
  • 1/4 - 1/2 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder (or cumin seeds)
  • 1 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp dried oregano
  • 1/2 tsp dried basil
  • 3/4 tsp salt (or more, to taste)
  • a generous dash of black pepper
  • 1 Tbsp tomato paste (or 1/2 large ripe tomato, finely chopped)
  • 1 tsp sriracha sauce
  • 1-2 tsp lime juice
  • a dash of liquid smoke (optional, for extra smokiness)

Assembly

  • hard or soft tacos (I used gluten-free blue corn tortillas)
  • lettuce or cabbage (finely chopped)
  • salsa of choice (I used pico de gallo)
  • avocado, jalapenos, cilantro, lime juice

Method

  1. Soak the lentils for half an hour. Chop up the potatoes, get the ingredients ready. Drain the lentils, wash, and keep ready.
  2. In a deep pan, add oil and heat on medium heat. Add onion and cook until golden (5 to 6 mins).
  3. Add all the spices, herbs, salt, pepper, tomato paste/tomato, and mix well. Cook for a minute (2-3 minutes if using a tomato).
  4. Add the washed lentils and water. Mix, cover, and cook on low-medium heat for 15 minutes.
  5. Add the cubed sweet potato, Sriracha, mix, and cook covered for another 15-25 minutes until lentils and sweet potato are tender and all liquid is absorbed.
  6. Add lime juice, taste, and adjust for salt and spice. Add a dash of liquid smoke for extra smokiness.
  7. Warm the taco shells, then load them with the warm lentil mixture, lettuce/cabbage, fresh salsa, avocado, jalapeno, cilantro, and lime juice. Serve immediately.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.