How to make light and spicy turkey chili

Cholesterol-lowering turkey brings guilt-free eating to this variation on traditional chili. Mushrooms and kidney beans add low-fat flavour. Serve with rice and a salad for a complete main meal. Here's a step-by-step recipe to help you bring this unique comfort food to your table.

Preparation time 10 minutes

Cooking time 30 minutes

Serves 4

• 15 ml (1 tbsp) olive oil or canola oil
• 450 g (1 lb) ground turkey
• 10 ml (2 tsp) cumin seeds
• 2 to 10 ml (1/2 to 2 tsp) red pepper flakes
• 1 large onion
• 1 red pepper
• 2 carrots75 ml (1/3 c) small mushrooms, quartered
• 2 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 can (400 g/14 1/2 oz) chopped tomatoes
• 1 can (425 g/15 oz) red kidney beans, rinsed and drained
• 250 ml (1 c) frozen peas

1. Heat the oil in a large pot over medium-high heat for a few seconds. Add the ground turkey, cumin seeds and red pepper flakes and cook for five minutes, stirring occasionally, until the turkey is lightly browned. If necessary, increase the heat to high for the final minute to boil away any juices from the turkey.

2. Prepare the vegetables. Coarsely chop the onion, seed and dice the pepper, and coarsely dice the carrots. Add the garlic, onion, pepper, carrots and mushrooms to the pot. Cook over medium-high heat for five minutes, stirring frequently, until the vegetables soften.

3. Stir in the tomatoes and 120 millilitres (1/2 cup) of boiling water. Return to a boil, reduce heat slightly and cover the pot. Cook at a rapid simmer for 15 minutes, stirring once or twice. Stir in the kidney beans and peas. Simmer for one minute, or until the beans and peas are heated through.

• For vegetarian chili, replace the turkey with crumbled soy protein or tofu.
• An equal quantity of ground pork or chicken makes a tasty alternative.
• Replace the peas with 250 millilitres (one cup) sliced zucchini and cook for another two to three minutes, or until the zucchini is tender.
• Try cannellini beans or chickpeas instead of red kidney beans, and add frozen sweet corn instead of peas.
• Okra is a good addition to this recipe. Thickly slice 250 millilitres (one cup) okra, discarding the stalk ends. Add to the chili five minutes before the end of cooking in step 3.

• Low in fat and calories, mushrooms are an ideal addition to any weight-control diet plan. They offer B vitamins that encourage energy release from foods, and are a useful source of selenium, an important antioxidant.

• You can make your own ground turkey by processing 450 grams (one pound) of lean turkey meat in a meat grinder or food processor, in batches, until the turkey has an even consistency.
• Add red pepper flakes according to your taste — two millilitres (1/2 teaspoon) will give a slight piquancy, five millilitres (one teaspoon) will create a medium-hot chili, while 10 millilitres (two teaspoons) will produce a hot result.

Nutritional information: 459 Calories, 15 g Fat, 4 g Saturated Fat, 24 g Carbohydrate, 57 g Protein, 8 g Fibre