Are The Lentils In The Vegetarian Chilli Cooked Or Uncooked?

Our answer

Nigella's Vegetarian Chilli With Cornbread Topping (from FEAST) is a vegetarian version of the Cornbread Topped Chilli Conn Carne. The vegetarian version tastes just as good and should be enjoyed by everyone. The recipe uses split red lentils.

The lentils are added to the pot uncooked, hence the vegetarian recipe has proportionally a lot more water than the meat-based recipe as the lentils will absorb quite a lot of liquid. The lentils should swell up and thicken the sauce as they cook. However, if you find that there is a little too much liquid you can simmer the sauce with the lid off to help reduce the sauce down a little. Also, the sauce should thicken more as it cools, so bear this in mind if you are making the lentil chilli in advance.