This is a vegetarian recipe based on a found recipe. Due to unavailability and fresh ingredient changes, I have altered the recipe to my own version. Many of the recipes I find online are giving shopping lists that are incompatible with were I live, so I have substituted many of the items for similar tastes and textures and changed the recipe slightly. Overall I feel this is a great recipe, that can be frozen too.
Now, before I start, the recipe calls for the black beans to be soaked overnight. There is many a viewpoint about soaking beans. Some say that the flavours get lost as well as the nutrients. So, even though the recipe states soaking, I have found evidence that you can cook the beans on the same day (like me, if you forget to soak them, then no fear). You can see the article here.
1/4 cup olive oil (from the sun dried tomato jar)
1 large onion (chopped) - I like using red onions as I prefer the sweeter taste.
3 cloves garlic (chopped)
1 big leek (chopped)
2 tbsp ground coriander
2 tbsp paprika
1 tbsp cinnamon
2 tbsp cumin
1/2 whole nutmeg (grated)
2 pinches of dried chilli flakes
1/3 cup sun dried tomatoes
1 packet cherry tomatoes
1 small tin tomato puree
250gms green lentils (boiled for 30 mins)
200gms black beans (soaked over night and boiled/simmer for 1 hour) or (1hr 30mins same day boiling)
1 cans kidney beans (drained)
2 cans chopped tomatoes
2 pieces dark chocolate
300ml water
Coconut yoghurt
Coriander (cilantro)
Rice
So, this method is assuming that you have already boiled the black beans or socked and boil/simmered them.
1 Put the olive oil in a large, non stick pan & heat it up
- I tend to use a large saucepan, as I double the amount of ingredients and freeze much of the leftovers.
2 Add the onion, cook until translucent (2/3 mins)
3 Add the garlic, leeks & stir round until the leeks are soft (3 mins)
- garlic can go overcooked really quickly, so I tend to add the garlic about 1 minute before the next step is required)
4 Add the spices & stir round until they’re wet & all the vegetables are well covered (1 min)
5 Add the chillies, sun dried tomatoes, cherry tomatoes & mix in to everything that’s already in the pan (2 mins)
6 Add the tomato puree & stir it through (2 mins)
7 Add the beans, lentils, tinned tomatoes & mix everything together
8 Keep stirring the mixture round until the beans are softening & the sauce is thickening (upto 30 mins)
- at this point it can be placed on simmer and a lid placed on. You can keep returning to check on it. It basically takes 30 minutes.
9 Add the dark chocolate stir round so the chocolate melts
10 Pour in the water and mix well (turn heat up again, to allow water to boil)
11 When it starts to bubble, turn down the heat & let the chilli simmer for at least 1 hour (stir it occasionally)
12 Serve immediately with rice & garnish with coconut yoghurt & cilantro (coriander)
Enjoy!
