Lentil Bobotie

It’s the year of the pulses and the theme of National Nutrition Week is ‘Love your beans – eat dry beans, peas and lentils’, so this delicious Lentil Bobotie, created by chef Vanessa Marx, is the perfect family meal.

We love lentils (and you should too)! Dried lentils are a quick cooking legume, taking just 15 – 20 minutes to cook with no need to remember to soak them beforehand. The also pack a lot of punch, they are: low in fat, high in protein and high in dietary fiber.

Legumes (including lentils) provide a valuable and cost-effective source of protein and other nutrients. A 2010 review by Drenowski of different foods found that beans were among the top 5 classes of food having the highest micronutrient to price ratio, making them exceptional nutritional value for your money.

Serves 4

Ingredients

2 cup lentils, cooked
30ml canola oil
1 onion, peeled & chopped
2 cloves garlic, peeled & finely chopped or crushed
20g grated fresh ginger
100g green beans, chopped
1/2 cup raisins
2 carrots, peeled and diced
1 red pepper, diced
1 can chopped tomatoes
1/2 cup water
30ml mild curry spice
5ml ground cinnamon
2 bay leaves
2 free-range eggs
1/4 cup low fat yoghurt
2ml ground turmeric
salt & pepper
10g fresh coriander, chopped
2 extra bay leaves

Method

1. Put a large pot on the stove on a medium heat and add the oil.
2. Add the chopped onion, ginger & garlic and sauté lightly for about 5 minutes.
3. Then add the carrots, red pepper, green beans and raisins and continue to sweat for another 5 minutes.
4. Add the curry spice, cinnamon and bay leaves and stir in for 2 minutes.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes and water and stir in.
6. Cook the sauce for about 15min until slightly thickened and the vegetables have softened a little.
7. Add the lentils and season with salt and pepper to taste and mix in.
8. Put the lentil mixture into an oven proof dish and set aside.
9. In a bowl, whisk together the yoghurt, eggs and turmeric.
10. Pour the egg mixture over the lentil bobotie and place the 2 bay leaves on top.
11. Bake the bootie in the oven at 180ºC for about 20min until the egg custard has set and is slightly golden brown on top.
12. Remove from the oven and serve hot with chopped fresh coriander.