2 medium onions, finely chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
3 c red bell peppers (about 2 large), finely diced
2 t hot red pepper flakes, or 1/2 a habanero pepper and 1/2 a jalapeno pepper, seeded and minced
1 t ground coriander
1 t ground cumin
3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
1 1/2 c red lentiles
3 c canned chopped tomatoes
3 1/2 c drained canned kidney beans (2 cans)
1/4 c ketchup
1/4 c tomato paste
1 T unsweetened cocoa powder
For serving
2 c sour cream
1 c chopped cilantro
Heat 2 T olive oil over medium-low heat in a deep wide pan with lid. Add onions, garlic, and bell peppers, and saute until softened, about 5 minutes. If using fresh hot peppers, add toward end of sauteeing. Stir in red pepper flakes (if not using fresh hot pepper), coriander, cumin, and cardamom pods. Stir in lentils
Add tomatoes, kidney beans, ketchup, paste, cocoa and 3 c water and stir well. Cover and simmer, stirring frequently, until mixture is thickened and beans are tender, about 45 minutes.
Note that recipe calls for baking in oven with corn bread topping, which is good too. If you want to do that, make up a corn bread batter (see below), pour chili into 9 by 13 pan and spread corn bread evenly over chili, sprinking some grated cheddar cheese on topping. Bake until topping has risen and turned golden brown, about 25 minutes. Let stand out of oven for 5 minutes.
Serve with sour cream and cilantro.
Corn bread topping batter: 1 t salt, 2 c cornmeal, 2 T flour, 3 t baking powder, 1 t ground cinnamon, 1 c buttermilk, 2 large eggs, 1 t honey, 2 T vegetable oil. Combine wet and dry ingredients separately in two bowls, add wet into dry and stir. My memory is that this makes a bit too much topping for the amount of chili ...
Recipe from the New York Times