Recipe: Super-Spicy Lentil and Vegetable Curry

I have a bad cold and I’m trying to spice and vitamin it away. The other night I cooked up a massive pan of lentils and vegetables and doused it in spice and spices.

Although it unfortunately didn’t turn out to be a miracle cure for my illness, it did turn out to be pretty delicious.

If you don’t like spicy food… don’t make this recipe. Or you could just not use the excessive amounts of chilli that I did!

Super-Spicy Lentil & Vegetable Curry

Serves 3-4

Ingredients

1 tablespoon olive oil
1/2 a small red onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, diced
2 Scotch Bonnet chillies, de-seeded and diced
2 teaspoons chilli paste (I used SIMPLYaddCHILLI – Extreme)
3-4 baby aubergines, sliced into 2cm pieces
1/2 a medium courgette, cubed
1 medium sweet potato, peeled, cubed and par-boiled
1 teaspoon cumin
1 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon tumeric
8 baby plum tomatoes, halved
400g tinned tomatoes
400g canned green lentils, drained
Handful of baby spinach
Pepper to season

Method

1. Heat oil in large pan then add onion and fry until softened. Add garlic, fresh chilli and chilli paste and fry for 2 minutes.

2.  Add aubergine, courgette, (par-boiled) sweet potato and spices and fry for 3-4 minutes then add fresh tomatoes and fry for additional 1 minute. (Add another drizzle of oil if needed.)

3. Pour tinned tomatoes into pan and stir through mixture. Reduce heat and simmer for 5 minutes.

4. Add lentils and baby spinach and stir through for 2-3 minutes. Remove from heat and season with pepper.

Serve over brown rice and enjoy with warm chapattis.