Vegetarian Spicy Lima Bean Hotpot

Vegetarian spicy lima bean hotpot  is a one pot meal that will fill meat-eaters no trouble, and satisfy their taste buds – nutritious, easy, healthy.

When I want a vegetarian meal, I usually turn to beans for their versatility and their protein content. Beans have the advantage too, of reducing cholesterol. Not only are they a replacement for cholesterol producing meat, but they reduce the cholesterol which has already accrued. It’s got to be good for you. I like things to be good for me, but I’m more interested in how good they taste, and how satisfying a meal is, and this easy to prepare one-pot spicy vegetarian bean pot hits the mark.

I particularly enjoy spicy food so if you prefer less spicy meals, then adjust the spices. This dish as prepared below is medium hot. The amounts will feed two large appetites.

Ingredients

2 Tbsp olive oil (or your favourite oil)

1 good-sized onion

2 cloves of garlic

1 Cup of cooked lima beans

3 medium skinned tomatoes (optional, exchange for zucchini)

1 good-sized carrot

2/3 cup finely chopped celery with leaves

1.5 cups of chopped broccoli (optional, exchange for cauliflower)

3 Tbsp chopped parsley

2.5 Tsp sambal oelek

1 Tsp chili chutney (or other sweet chutney)

2 Tsp cumin

1/2 Tsp of turmeric

1 Tsp veg stock

2/3 cup of sultanas (or raisins)

1 scant Tsp flaky sea salt

 

Method

1. Skin the tomatoes by covering them with boiling water for a couple of minutes. The skin will then easily peel off.
2. Chop the onions, garlic and carrot so the pieces are smaller than the lima beans and saute them in a large frypan in oil. The lima beans and the broccoli are the heart of this dish so everything else has to be smaller than them.
3. Add sambal oelek and chutney.
4. Then chop broccoli into single florets (see photos) and add with finely chopped celery and celery leaves.
5. Now add the cumin and turmeric.
6. Chop the tomatoes and throw them in the pan.

 

Now add a cup of water, the sultanas, and the salt, and allow to bubble gently until the juices begin to evaporate. The sultanas are a sweetening agent to counteract the sharpness of the tomatoes.
Let everything simmer for a bit so the tomatoes begin to juice the dish, then add the veg stock. I use fresh veg stock made with a Thermomix kitchen whizz – perhaps a good teaspoon of quality dry vege stock would be equivalentAdd the cooked beans. 

Tip: I cook a big pot of beans and split them into containers and freeze them so I always have cooked beans on hand.

Once the juices have reduced to a thickish sauce (about 20 minutes), test your vegetables. If they are still too crisp for your taste, add more water and simmer it down again, and keep doing this until you are happy with the veges.

Serve Vegetarian Spicy Lima Bean Hotpot in a bowl with a spoon. If you have ravenous eaters for dinner, serve some fried bread, spread with a paste made from garlic and salt, with the hotpot. They may be meat-eaters, but they won’t have room for anything else after this meal and it’s so tasty, they won’t complain.

Enjoy!

©Theresa Sjoquist