Recipe courtesy of Psychologies Magazine (April 2019) and taken from Cooking on a Bootstrap by Jack Monroe
If you don’t like aubergine, use mushrooms. Lentils could also be kidney beans, baked beans, black beans, brown or green lentils, or yellow split peas – for protein. The flavour speaks for itself, or rather shouts, sings and dances!
Serves: 2-4
Ingredients:
1 large aubergine or 2 small aubergines, diced
50g dried red lentils
3 onions, finely sliced
Oil, for frying
4 fat garlic cloves
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 tsp cumin, seeds or ground
1/4 star anise, or 1/8 tsp fennel seeds
A good grind of black pepper
1-2 tsp chilli flakes
2 tblsp tomato puree
2 tblsp vinegar or lemon juice, fresh or bottled
A fistful of spinach
Step One : In a bowl, sprinkle the aubergine with a good pinch of salt, then set aside.
Step Two : Thoroughly rinse the lentils and place them in a pan. Cover with water – no salt or they will take an age to cook – and bring to the boil. When the water is boiling, reduce to a simmer for 12 minutes, until the lentils are soft. Drain, rinse and set aside.
Step Three : Meanwhile, toss the onions into a large pan with a little oil and, over medium heat, soften for 10 minutes. Add the garlic cloves, peeled but whole, and the aubergine, stirring to stop it sticking. Cook for 15 minutes, adding more oil if needed.
Step Four : Add the cinnamon, cumin, star anise, or fennel, and pepper, but only half of your chosen quantity of chilli. (It is easy to add, but difficult to temper down if you misjudge it, so I put in half the chilli to cook, and leave half to garnish.) Stir well to combine, then add 200ml water to the pan, and crank up the heat to medium-high.
Step Five : Add the lentils, tomato puree and vinegar or lemon juice and stir. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer and cover, stirring slowly now and again. It should take around 30 minutes to meld into glossy, orange goodness, and the liquid should thicken to an unctuous sauce. If it is too watery, bring it back to the boil, reduce the heat and cook a little more. Stir through the spinach a few minutes before serving. This vindaloo is delicious with boiled rice, which makes it go further.
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