200g of any lentils you like, red or yellow lentils are traditional
1l water or stock
salt & pepper to taste
1 tsp dried mint
sprinkle of msg
cumin
paprika powder
Just fry the onions and garlic first, add tomato paste and the lentils and the diced potatoes fry a bit more, then add water and simmer until the lentils are cooked. Then season.
If you have a blender, food processor, or immersion blender you can add beans, lentils, etc and veggies into a red pasta sauce to get your protein and veggies in with keeping a good texture. Just blend up yours beans and veggies (I use frozen stir fry mix but anything works) and add into the sauce as you simmer it for a while. Works well to thicken up a sauce by doing this, so save some pasta water to get the consistency right.
Depending on time I try to simmer my sauce for an hour or two.
If you combine this with whole wheat pasta you have a cheap, healtht, great tasting meal that's vegan friendly (if you don't add cheese at the end). I'm sure this is blasphemy for an Italian, but I love the meal.
I'm not vegan but my dinner today fits the bill, as long as you use canned chickpeas:
cut kabocha [pumpkin? squash?] into large chunks
boil it in water or veg broth, alongside some seasoning
puree it, send it back to the same pot
[optional] add tomato paste
add chickpeas, let them simmer together until the broth thickens due to the chickpeas juice
Amounts are eyeballed (in your case, heart-measured). Seasoning is up to your tastes, but if unsure: I use salt, curry powder, cayenne pepper. It tastes really great with some bread.