Vegetable Chili & Brown Rice

Another veggie favourite up today. This dish is a vegetable chilli that's made with a blend of ground coriander, ground cumin, chili flakes, and cinnamon. Packed with veg, the kidney beans  and chick peas  are a great background against the spiciness of the chili.

This dish would freeze and reheat very well and any left over chili would go great served on a baked potato.

Ingredients

For the chili

• 1 x 400g tin of chopped tomatoes

• 2 teaspoons of tomato puree

• 250ml boiling water

• 2 sweeteners

• 1 vegetable stock cube, crumbled

• 5g / 1 teaspoon of low fat butter spread

• 1 medium onion. (Red or white). Peeled, and finely sliced

• 2-4 cloves of garlic. Peeled and finely chopped

• 1 teaspoon of ground coriander

•  1 teaspoon of ground cumin

• 1 teaspoon of ground cinnamon 

• ½ teaspoon of chili flakes (1 teaspoon if you like it spicy)

• ½ teaspoon of chili powder (1 teaspoon if you like it spicy)

• 2 sticks of celery. Washed, topped tailed and finely sliced

• 2 peppers. 1 red and 1 green works well. Washed and roughly chopped

• 2 medium carrots. Washed, topped, tailed, peeled and roughly chopped

• 1 x 400g tin of kidney beans. Drained and rinsed in cold water

• 1 x 400g tin of chick peas. Drained and rinsed in cold water

• small bunch of fresh coriander

• 2 tablespoons of balsamic vinegar

• small bunch of fresh coriander to garnish

Ingredients

For the rice

• 120g brown rice

• 2 pints of boiling water

• 1 vegetable stock cube

• ½ teaspoon salt (Or better still low sodium salt)

Method

1. Heat a large pot over a medium to high heat and add the tomatoes, puree, water, sweeteners, and stock cube and stir to combine. Bring this pan to the boil and reduce the heat to let it simmer.
2. Meanwhile, heat a large frying pan over a medium to high heat and add the butter. When it's bubbling, add the onion and let it fry for 3-5 minutes.
3. Next add the chopped garlic and continue to fry for another minute or so.
4. Next add all the spices and stir well for a further minute.
5. Transfer the onion, garlic and spice mix to the simmering tomato sauce.
6. Next, add the chopped celery and fry gently for 3-5 minutes until lightly browned. You should lightly season the celery with salt and pepper. When done, transfer the celery to the tomato sauce.
7. Next, add the chopped peppers to the pan and fry gently for 5-8 minutes until slightly charred. You should lightly season the peppers with salt and pepper. When done, transfer the peppers to the simmering sauce.
8. Then, add the carrots to the pan and and stir fry gently for 5-8 minutes. Again, lightly season the carrots with salt and pepper. Again, when done, transfer the carrots to the simmering sauce.
9. Next, add the kidney beans and chickpeas to the sauce and stir.
10. Finally, add the balsamic vinegar and chopped coriander. Increase the heat and bring the chili to the boil. When it's boiled for a minute or so, reduce the heat and let it simmer away for 40-50 minutes partially covered with a lid or plate.
11. In a separate pan, add 2 pints of boiling water to a large sauce pan and bring back to the boil.
12. When the water is bubbling, add the stock cube and salt and stir to make sure it's fully dissolved.
13. Add the rice and stir to ensure it doesn't stick to the bottom of the pan. Bring the pot back to the boil again. Then reduce the heat to medium. Loosely cover the pot with a lid. Let it bubble away for 40 minutes.
14. When both the rice and sauce are done. Transfer the rice to warmed plates or bowls and add the chili. Garnish with the chopped fresh coriander and serve.