Chili sin Carne

If you choose to use dried beans, soak and boil them before use. Soak the beans in plenty of water for 10-12 hours or overnight. Drain the soaking water. Transfer the beans to a saucepan and add fresh water. Bring the beans to the boil at 120ºC until the water boils. Reduce the temperature and simmer the beans under a lid at 100ºC for 35-50 minutes. The beans should be fully cooked but should not boil out. You can add the hot beans directly to the chili or you can boil them the day before and refrigerate them until use. Alternatively, you can cook a large batch and freeze them so you always have beans ready when you need them.

Peel and finely chop the onion and garlic. Peel the carrots and grate them roughly. Rinse the squash and coarsely grate it. Rinse the pepper, remove the stem and seeds and cut it into small cubes.

Put oil in a 3 or 5-liter pot and set the temperature to 135ºC. If you have a 5-liter pot, use it to have a little more room to stir. Add the onions and garlic and fry until the onions are clear, about 1 minute. Add the ground coriander, ground cumin, ground chili, smoked paprika (if using), cinnamon and salt. Let the spices roast for a few minutes while stirring. Add the carrots, zucchini and bell pepper. Let the vegetables heat through for a few minutes. Rinse the red lentils thoroughly under cold water and add them to the pan. Reduce the temperature to 102ºC. Add the chopped tomato, water, stock cube and brown sugar. Stir well and simmer for 30 minutes uncovered until the lentils are tender. Stir it once or twice. Add the cooked kidney beans and chopped dark chocolate. Simmer for another 10 minutes or so to allow the flavors to blend well and the chocolate to melt. Season to taste with salt and pepper.

Serve your chili with boiled rice - you can find the recipe in the app. Top the chili with sour cream, fresh coriander and avocado.