Spiced Sweet Potato & Red Pepper Dal (Pressure Cooker)

A simple curry that we never seem to get bored of. For us, if you're going to try to avoid meat, you should replace it with things like beans and pulses, so dishes like this feature pretty much daily on our campervan menu.

Ingredients: 1 onion, 4 cloves of garlic, 1 medium red pepper, 1 medium sweet potato, 1 tablespoon curry powder, 1 mug red lentils, 1 tin chopped tomatoes, 1 tin coconut milk. Optional: Small bunch of coriander, thumb of ginger, 1 tsp nigella seeds, juice of half a lemon.

Method: Chop all veg up small, then fry for a few minutes. No need to peel the sweet potato. Stir in the stalks of the coriander and the ginger, both chopped, plus the nigella seeds, if using. Add curry powder and stir. Stir in the lentils and tin of coconut milk, plus a mug of water. Pour the chopped tomatoes on top. Bring up to pressure and cook for one minute. Drop pressure naturally. Season to taste. Stir in the lemon juice and some of the chopped coriander leaves, if using - sprinkle the rest over the top to serve.

Notes: If cooking at home I usually add the optional ingredients, I don't bother in the van. Serve with chopped chillies, and extras like mango chutney and lime pickle, if you like. We always have this with brown basmati rice (you can transfer the dal to another pan and put aside while you re-use the pressure cooker to cook it). You can also dilute it with water (check seasoning again afterwards) to make a soup.