This one is a great recipe for meat eaters and vegetarians, with a meaty texture from the pearl barley and lentils, and very filling with the red kidney, aduki, and black eye beans.
It is best to use dried lentils as they are cheaper and you are able to adjust the quantities more readily. It is great with rice, a jacket potato, stuffed in tortilla wraps, or with tortilla chips.
Ingredients for Meaty Vegan Chilli:
- 100g dried Pearl Barley
- 100g dried Red Lentils
- 100g dried Red Kidney Beans
- 100g dried Aduki Beans
- 100g dried Black Eye Beans
NOTE – if you wish to use tinned beans replace 100g dried with a 400g can
- 1 tbsp oil
- 2 medium onions diced
- 1 clove garlic crushed
- Chili mix –
- 1 tsp dried chili flakes or dried chili powder
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp salt
- 1/2 tsp black pepper
- 1 tsp cocoa powder
- 1 tsp brown sugar (white will do the job too or even honey, it can also be left out of the recipe if avoiding sugar)
- 2 400g tins chopped tomatoes
- 1 large red pepper diced
- 1/2 pint vegetable stock (1 pint vegetable stock – for long/slow cooking final stage if chosen)
Method for Meaty Vegan Chilli:
Soak the beans, lentils, and pearl barley overnight in separate bowls then rinse and drain. The beans will need cooking for 1hr 30min until soft and tender and then rinsing again. If you have a pressure cooker follow the manufacturers guidelines, but it should be about 8minutes if pre-soaked. Do not cook the lentils or pearl barley at this stage.
Fry the oil in a large pan and sweat the onion and garlic for 10 minutes. Add the chili spices and stir for around a minute.
Throw in the chopped pepper, tinned tomatoes, vegetable stock, pearl barley, and lentils. Stir well, cover, and leave to simmer for 20 minutes.
Add the beans and continue cooking on a low heat for 10-15 minutes. If you want a richer sauce and even more meaty texture add the further 1/2 pint stock and slow/low cook it until it is all absorbed (this takes about an hour).
Bulk Cooking
Although this recipe does take a little bit or preparation and cooking time, it is perfect for making in large batches and freezing.
This was a pleasure to make and really tasty my family and friends loved it. It also freezes well. I added a few more dried chilli flakes which gave it an extra kick.