Chickpea & Spinach Curry with Coconut served with Rice
Prep time: 5 minutes / Cooking time: 30 min (depending on what type of rice you use)
Serves 4 to 6
This recipe is vegan
INGREDIENTS:
2 tbsp. oil
1 onion, diced
3 cloves of garlic, crushed
2 tbsp. of curry powder
400g chopped tomatoes
800g tinned chickpeas, drained
400g tin coconut milk
100g spinach, chopped
Salt & pepper, to taste
Rice to serve – 60g of rice per portion
METHOD:
1. Put a saucepan of water on to boil. While making the chickpea curry, cook the rice following manufacturer instructions.
2. Put oil in a medium size saucepan and turn on the heat to medium - high.
3. When oil is hot but not smoking, add the diced onion and cook for 5 to 6 minutes stirring often until it begins to soften and gets a bit of colour.
4. Add the crushed garlic, curry powder, and cook stirring constantly for 1-2 minutes making sure it does not stick.
5. Add the chopped tomatoes, bring to a simmer and cook for 5 minutes stirring often.
6. Add the chickpeas and coconut milk, mix well and bring it to a gentle simmer. Cook for a further 5 minutes stirring every so often.
7. Finally, add the chopped spinach and cook until wilted; it should not take longer than 1-2 minutes. To wilt a leafy green vegetable it means to cook it very briefly until it has lost its shape.
Check for seasoning and serve with rice
TIPS:
✓ This is a very versatile curry; you can turn it into a chicken curry by using chicken instead of chickpeas. If the chicken is raw, cut it into chunks and add it to step 3 - cooking it with the onions. If you are using cooked left over chicken just add it as you would the chickpeas in step 6. Always make sure the chicken is piping hot before serving. You can also make it chicken & chickpea by using half the amount of chickpeas and adding some chicken too (great way to cut down on meat consumption).
✓ You could serve the curry with naan bread/chapatti instead of rice, lovely for dipping in the curry.
✓ Use whatever curry powder your family likes best, mild, medium, hot or garam masala are all great choices. If your family likes it a bit more spicy just add some chilli powder or a fresh chilli (finely diced), if available.
✓ You could use dried chickpeas instead, just remember that you will need to soak them overnight and then boil them.
✓ Any leftover spinach can be frozen and used another time.
✓ If you would like to lower the calories in this recipe, use light/reduced fat coconut milk instead of full fat.
✓ Garlic & onions are a good base ingredients for many dishes like soups, stews and sauces so it is good to always keep some in your cupboard.
NUTRITIONAL INFORMATION:
Nutrition per serving, based on 6 servings per recipe with no added salt:
Serving of 311g curry:
Kcal 282.56
Fat 12.67g
Saturates 5.08g
Carbs 27.84g
Sugars 0.33g
Fibre 7.05g
Protein 11.36g
Salt 0.33g
Serving of 60g (dried) rice, easy cook long grain:
Kcal 282.56
Fat 12.67g
Saturates 5.08g
Carbs 27.84g
Sugars 0.33g
Fibre 7.05g
Protein 11.36g
Salt 0.33g
Chickpeas are a type of legume (like lentils) and are a good source of vegetarian protein & very rich in dietary fibre. Fibre is excellent for helping to maintain a healthy gut and digestive system. A high fibre diet can help lower cholesterol levels.
Chickpeas are a vegetarian source of iron and contain several other beneficial vitamins and minerals such as magnesium, selenium and potassium.
Dried chickpeas (that need to be pre-soaked & boiled) have a higher iron content and a lower sodium content than tinned ones – great for those trying to reduce salt intake.
Spinach is a member of the beet family and when cooked its volume is reduced by about three-quarters; it is an excellent source of vitamin A, folic acid and antioxidants.
Fresh spinach has a higher iron content than most other vegetables.
Tomatoes are a fruit and should be stored at room temperature (it will improve their flavour considerably). Tomatoes are a good source of potassium, vitamin C, beta-carotene (in your body it will covert to Vitamin A) and fibre.
Tomatoes also contain lycopene, a natural antioxidant which has been shown to have many health benefits.
Garlic & onions are among the vegetables highest in antioxidants and have been shown to help cholesterol levels.
