About the Author: Jodie

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On this site you find a number of links to products used. By clicking through these and if you make a purchase through that click, you are supporting me through affiliate marketing. This is at no extra cost to you but gives me a small percentage of commission on your purchase.

Affiliate Links

On this site you find a number of links to products used. By clicking through these and if you make a purchase through that click, you are supporting me through affiliate marketing. This is at no extra cost to you but gives me a small percentage of commission on your purchase.

This is a recipe my dear friend Joost recommended to me years ago andto say I have been obsessed since then, is an understatement. I have made it for lunch so often I haven’t looked at the original recipe for years! Which was written by Jill Nussinow in her book Vegan Under Pressure:

This simple but incredibly flavoursome lentil dish really can be a cheap and easy but utterly delicious complete meal. Typically, fat is added but I try to eat oil free the majority of the time so I don’t add any but honestly, the berbere spice mix is so fantastically flavourful you don’t need to worry about the lentils being tasteless.

Glass clip top jar viewed from above labelled in black pen "berbere spice mix"

I use miso as my salt substitute (Dr Greger explains why better than me here) and in this recipe, it also acts as an additional layer of flavour by essentially being a concentrated stock paste.

Shallow bowl held up to a window overlooking a garden filled with brown rice, misr wot and mango chutney

This is a “dump and go” meal which takes only 10 minutes when the pressure cooker has come up to pressure to cook. Traditionally, you would have accompaniments such as teff flour flatbreads, atakilt wat (cabbage, carrots and potatoes) or gomen (spicy collard greens) but my own addition is a bag of shredded kale as it stands up to the pressure cooking extremely well and even it’s tough stalks are deliciously tender if still having bite after cooking this way.

For fellow Slimming World followers, this is a Syn Free meal that I cannot recommend highly enough. Serve with steamed brown basmati rice and a spoonful of (appropriately synned) mango chutney and I am a very, very happy ex-che vegan artist person indeed! It might not be a typical accompaniment for misr wot but there are so many parallels between Indian and African food with regards to spice palettes that it really works. Indeed, if you have never had an African dish, nay an Ethiopian one, but love Indian dal and lentil based curries, I am certain you will love misr wot. It is it’s own wonderful, unique dish but you will find those warming spices familiar and comforting.

Ingredients

For the Berbere Spice Mix:

  • 8 tbsp ground cayenne

  • 6 tbsp paprika

  • 1 tsp ground methi leaves (aka fenugreek)

  • 1 tsp ground cinnamon

  • 1 tsp turmeric

  • 1 tsp ground coriander

  • 1 tsp cracked black pepper

  • 1/2 tsp ground cardamom

  • 1/4 tsp grated nutmeg

  • 1/4 tsp ground allspice

  • 1/8 tsp ground cloves

For the Lentils:

  • 1 cup red lentils

  • 1 large red onion, chopped as liked

  • 4-6 cloves of garlic, depending on their size

  • 1 tsp miso paste

  • 1-2 tbsp berbere spice mix (recipe above or buy from a store)

  • 400g chopped tomatoes

  • 200g chopped kale (some stalks are just fine)

Method

  • Firstly measure out all the dry spices and whisk together well.  Store in an airtight jar or tupperware pot out of the sunlight.

  • Put all of the ingredients except for the kale into your inner pot of the Instant Pot and stir very, very well.

  • Use the empty tomato can to add two can’s worth of water to the lentil mix and again, stir very well.  You don’t want any lentils or chunks of tomato to stick to the bottom of the inner pot as this will cause the burn error to occur.

  • Add the kale on top of the lentil mix and don’t stir it in, just leave it there.

  • Lock on the lid and set to “Sealing”.  Select Manual (High Pressure) and cook for 15 minutes.  Allow the pressure to come down for a minute or twobefore releasing the rest of the pressure with a QPR (Quick Pressure Release).

  • Taste to see if you would like more spice or miso to season and eat with steamed rice, and of course, a blob of mango chutney.

Recipe Notes

  • The spice mix makes a lot but you do use at least 2 tbsp each time you make this so it goes fast!

  • This recipe reheats in the microwave beautifully with a splash of water, cooked on high for 2 minutes.

Important Info on “Syns”

  • I follow Slimming World principles to maintain my weight so I include “Syn” information for others who do the same.

  • Syn values given are correct at time of writing but may not always be accurate and I am in no away officially associated with Slimming World.

  • Any advice given here should not replace the advice of your Slimming World consultant and the literature you have access to as a paying member.

Affiliate Links

On this site you find a number of links to products used. By clicking through these and if you make a purchase through that click, you are supporting me through affiliate marketing. This is at no extra cost to you but gives me a small percentage of commission on your purchase.