Vegetarian Chili I

By Hklbrries

Chili is right up there with my vegetable curries at the top of my list of favorite dishes. Fat-free vegetarian chilies come in many forms, and I hope you will feel free to improvise on the recipes in this chapter. You can use different kinds of beans; you can cook the beans from scratch or use canned ones; and you can add just spices or combine the beans with a whole host of vegetables. This recipe starts with dried beans, but it is just as tasty using canned red kidney beans.

Ingredients

• 1 pound small red chili beans
• 4 cups bouillon, or more as needed
• 1 large onion, chopped
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2 stalks celery, chopped
• 1 green pepper, chopped
• 2 dried red peppers, crushed, or 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper or to taste
• 4 tbsp chili powder
• 1 tsp oregano
• 1 tsp cumin
• 1 can (28 ounces) plum tomatoes, chopped
• 1 cup bulgur
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 tbsp Worcestershire sauce
• Cilantro, chopped

Preparation

Step 1

Soak the beans overnight; drain and rinse.In a large pot, cover the beans with bouillon and bring to a boil; simmer gently while chopping the vegetables. Add the onion, garlic, celery, green pepper and spices and simmer until the beans are soft, about 40 to 60 minutes. Add the tomatoes with their juice and the bulgur; simmer another 20 minutes. Add the corn and Worcestershire sauce and cook 5 minutes more. Ladle into bowls and sprinkle with chopped cilantro. Serve with no-fat tortilla chips.