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A healthy vegetarian chilli recipe, packed with pulses, protein and nutrients. By Jules Clancy, this easy veggie chilli combines tomatoes, kidney beans and lentils.

From the book

Introduction

It’s hard to beat the winning combo of chilli, beans and tomato. And while chilli con carne can be lovely, I prefer this veggie-friendly version which uses lentils instead of minced beef. I’ve recently been using fried onions or shallots from large supermarkets or Asian grocery stores as an instant way to inject some oniony flavour into quick dishes. If you can’t find them, just soften an onion in a little oil before processing with the rest of the recipe.

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Ingredients

2 x 400g cans tomatoes
400g can lentils, drained
400g can red kidney beans, drained
1–2 tsp chilli powder
3 tbsp fried onions or shallots (see introduction)

Method

Place tomatoes, lentils, beans and chilli in a large saucepan.

Simmer over a medium-high heat for about 5 minutes or until the sauce has thickened slightly.

Stir in the shallots, leaving a few to sprinkle over the top.

Taste and season, adding a little more chilli if it needs it.

Variations:

Carnivore: brown about 250g minced beef in the pan before adding the other ingredients and skip the lentils or leave them in, as you like.

No kidney beans? Replace with white beans, black beans or even chickpeas.

Smoky: add a few teaspoons of smoked paprika or use a smoky chilli powder.

More Mexican: serve with fresh coriander leaves and a little sour cream.

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