Bethany's Vegan Kitchen

This simple but hearty meal would be perfect with rice or dairy free naan bread. It also goes to show that at its core, veganism can be very cheap. Pulses, other legumes and vegetables are usually quite cheap (at least here in the UK) and are good sources of protein, fibre and iron. It’s usually mock meats and dairy free cheeses that can make veganism appear expensive. But you can make veganism pretty cheap by limiting mock meats and cheese, and upping your intake of plant based whole foods

Yield; Four servings (320kcal approx per serving) Cook time; 35 minutes

You’ll need;

1. One tablespoon of oil
2. One small brown onion, sliced
3. Two cloves of garlic, minced
4. Half to one whole red chilli pepper, finely chopped (use more or less depending on how much heat you prefer
5. 250g/9oz red lentils, thoroughly rinsed
6. One 400g/14oz tin of chopped tomatoes
7. 400ml hot vegetable stock
8. Spice mix, two teaspoons of both ground cumin and ground coriander, one teaspoon of turmeric and smoked paprika
9. One 400g/14oz tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
10. Salt and black pepper to taste

Method;

• Pop the oil into a frying pan over a medium heat, then add the onion, garlic and chilli and allow to cook for five minutes, stirring often
• Once the onion has softened, add the lentils. There will be moisture in the lentils (from rinsing them) and this will deglaze the frying pan, so any browning will be lifted off and that flavour won’t be lost
• After the lentils add the tomatoes, stock and spices. Season with a little salt and black pepper, give it a good stir, then pop a lid on. Allow to gently simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally
• Finally add the chickpeas and give them five minutes to heat through, then it’s ready to serve. I garnished mine with some slices of chilli pepper and a little dairy free cream