Madras Chili and other Yummy Lentil Recipes!

I LOVE Indian food! My husband introduced this cuisine to me on our first date :) This Madras Chili recipe is so simple and satisfying!

Before I was completely vegan, I used to sometimes eat the convenient product, Madras Lentils, made by Tasty Bites. Unfortunately, it contains a very small about of cream and butter (there are only 10 mg of cholesterol). Traditional Indian food consists of many truly amazing vegetarian dishes! However, they often contain a bit of dairy :( So, here is my dairy-free recipe:

Madras Chili

3 cloves garlic, minced (1 Tbsp)

1 onion, chopped (1 cup)

1 Tbsp cumin

2-3 tsp chili powder (3 tsp = 1 Tbsp)

1 tsp turmeric

dash of pepper (as much as you like!)

1 c dry lentils

4-8 c water*

4 c tomatoes, diced (2 cans)

2 c black beans (1 can)

Heat a large pan for a few min before adding any food. Optionally, saute the onion and garlic for a few min, then add all other ingredients, and bring to a boil. Otherwise, skip saute, and combine all ingredients, and bring to a boil. Lower heat and cook uncovered, stirring occasionally. See timing below*.

*Water quantity:

For 8 cups, simmer 90 min.

For 6 cups, simmer 1 hour.

For 4 cups, set INSTAPOT** to manual for 10 min.

**I'll do a post on the Instapot, a pressure cooker, one of these days. It's a super-speedy way to cook beans, rice, potatoes, soups, and more!

Of course I want to mention Dr Greger's Daily Dozen :) This recipe gets 3 check marks: beans, non-green veggies, and spices. There is also water, but it doesn't count, since it isn't in "beverage form".

Besides being in this recipe, what do chili powder, cumin, and turmeric have in common? It's salicylic acid, the main active ingredient in ASPIRIN! And CUMIN has the most! Watch this fabulous nutritionfacts.org video!

PLANTS with ASPIRIN ASPIRATIONS

PS: In case you ever wondered, lentils are the best option from the beans and lentils group, according to Dr Greger :)

Here are some other lentil recipes to try:

Hearty Lentil Stew

Easy Lentil Tacos

Tricky Traditional Lasagna

COMMENTS: Do you make any awesome Indian recipes? I'm working on a tikka recipe, and I would love to make some vegan Palak Paneer :)...I think www.pcrm.org has a recipe!