Mushroom and lentil masala

Calories per serving: 216 Prep time: 15 minutes Cook time: 35 minutes

Serves 4

Yes, there are a lot of ingredients here, but most are spices you’ll likely have in the cupboard already. This richly aromatic curry is packed with plant protein and fibre but still modest in calories. Serve with a wholewheat chapati or flatbread (1 chapati = 150 calories).

INGREDIENTS

For the curry paste

– 5 garlic cloves, roughly chopped

– 15g fresh ginger, peeled and roughly chopped

– 2 large red chillies, deseeded and roughly chopped

– 2 tsp ground cumin

– 2 tsp ground coriander

– 1 tsp ground turmeric

– 1 tsp garam masala

– 4 cardamom pods, seeds only

For the curry

– 1 tbsp vegetable oil

– 250g onions, finely sliced

– 450g mushrooms, cut into chunks

– 250g red peppers, cut into chunks

– 1 x 400g tin green or brown lentils, drained and rinsed

– 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes

– 2 tbsp tomato purée

– 100ml plain yoghurt

– a small handful of coriander leaves, to serve

METHOD

Place all the curry paste ingredients in a blender with ½ tsp salt and 5 tbsp water, then whizz on low for 20 seconds. Scrape down the sides and blend on high for a further 20-30 seconds, until the paste is nice and smooth.

Heat the oil in a large saucepan or flat-based wok, add the onions and, on a low-medium heat, gently sauté for 10 minutes, stirring from time to time until nice and soft. Remove the onions from the pan.

Add the mushrooms and peppers to the pan, turn the heat up a little and sauté for 5 minutes or so, until the mushrooms are starting to colour.

Remove the mushrooms and peppers from the pan. Now add the spice paste to the pan and fry for 1 minute before adding all the vegetables back in. Stir well to combine.

Add the lentils, tomatoes and tomato purée, top up with 500ml water, turn up the heat to bring to a boil then turn it down to simmer for 15 minutes.

Just before serving, stir through the yoghurt. Reheat gently but don’t allow to boil. Serve with a scattering of coriander leaves over the top.