Creamy chickpea curry
This amazing recipe has only recently come in my kitchen. However, the fact that I made it at least 3 times along the course of the last month means it is staying in my recipe book for good. And it seems very unbelievable that such a creamy and filling dish can actually be very healthy! You get energy for your brain and protein for your muscles.
In my personal opinion- it is healthy also because the great balance of the flavors in this curry means you may not even want to have dessert afterwards! For some, this vegetarian dish may even overthrow a meat dish from the TOP of most often used recipes.
300 g tomatoes, blanched, peeled and diced
300-400 g canned chickpeas, drained
2 tbsp tomato paste
1 tsp ginger root, finely chopped
1 handful of parsley, chopped
2 tsp curry, 3 if you want it stronger
1 medium onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, finely chopped or pushed through garlic press
100+ ml coconut milk
The juice of 1 lime, to taste
Salt and pepper to taste
Olive oil for cooking
For the Basmati rice
1 cup of rice
2 cups water
1 tbsp olive oil
Salt to taste
For serving
Couple tbsp Greek yogurt
1 handful of parsley, chopped
Make the curry
1. Blanche the tomatoes, covering them with boiling hot water and keeping them in that water for 30 s. Drain the water and let cool, then peel and dice, set aside.
2. Chop the onion, garlic, parsley, ginger and set aside.
3. Heat the oil in a pan and on medium heat cook the onion until translucent.
4. Add the ginger, garlic, curry and cook a little, then add tomato paste and also let cook for a bit.
5. Add tomatoes and greens and keep cooking for 2 min. If the tomatoes aren’t juicy enough, add a bit of water to create a sauce.
6. Add the chickpeas and sautée for about 5 min.
7. Add salt and pepper, taste if that is enough to bring out the flavor and then pour in the coconut milk. Lower the heat to very low and sautée until the curry turns creamy, 2-3 min.
8. Taste the curry and squeeze in the lime juice as necessary.
Make the rice
9. Put the rice in a pot and add the water and oil, stir.
10. You can add the salt immediately or when the rice is done, your choice.
11. Put a lid over the pot and leave to simmer on medium heat. You need to check on the rice occasionally, because it may overflow when boiling.
12. Once it starts bubbling, lower the heat and sautée for 20 min without stirring.
13. Remove from heat and use a fork to fluff up the rice carefully.
14. If you need to keep the rice warm before serving, wrap the pot in a blanket.
15. Serve the curry with the rice and add Greek yogurt on top, along with the chopped greens.
Recipe: Ārija Avota
Photo: onemilk
