This is my store cupboard staples easy curry. I always have the tinned goods in my cupboard as backup should I find myself without anything fresh to cook with. And the best part is it taste better a day or two old, so there’s no reason why you can’t make it on a Sunday, as I have, ready for a quick and nutritious no-fuss mid-week meal.
It’s also perfect for those doing Veganuary as it is naturally vegan, and as a bonus contains over 9g of plant based protein.
This dish is versatile in the number of plant foods, containing an array of 7 different herbs and spices to complement 8 different plant ingredients. Add the rice and you’re well on your way to your 30 different plant foods for the week. In addition, it is an excellent source of fibre, containing half the recommended daily fibre intake of 30g just in this dish alone.
The trick to this dish is to cook it as slow and long as possible. If you don’t have much time to hand, it is still delicious if made within the hour, but if you have time, keep cooking on the lowest setting of your hob and top up with water when required. You could even get the curry ready, leave it overnight in the fridge and then quickly reheat it with the coconut milk and spinach the next day for a fast dinner.
The only other recommendation I can make would be to count in the cardamon pods and cloves. I hate nothing more than biting down on a whole clove mid way through my meal. Clove has a numbing effect, and is often used to help relieve tooth ache, not something I want to experience while eating my dinner. So, like a surgeon, I count them in, and then count them back out before serving, hopefully finding them all.
Serves 6
Ingredients
- 2 onions, sliced
- 2 tbsp rapeseed oil
- 1 thumb sized piece of ginger
- 5-6 cloves of garlic
- 1 tsp onion seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp cardamon seeds
- 6 whole cloves
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground turmeric
- 1 tsp chilli powder, or to taste
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- ~15 curry leaves
- 35g tomato puree
- 2 tins of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 400g tinned tomatoes
- 30g fresh coriander, chopped
- 200ml coconut milk
- 300g baby spinach leaves
Method
- Add the onions and rapeseed oil to a large pan and cook gently till the onions soften and become translucent.
- Meanwhile, make a garlic and ginger paste in a pestle and mortar, bashing till as smooth as possible.
- Add the garlic ginger paste, all the dried herbs and spices, tomato puree and chickpeas to the pan and cook together for 1 minute before adding the tinned tomatoes. Fill the empty tin with water and add the the pan.
- Add the chopped coriander and allow to gently simmer away for an hour, or longer if you have the time. If the liquid reduces too much add some extra water.
- 10 minutes before serving, add the coconut milk and spinach before returning to the heat to allow the spinach to wilt. Season to taste.
- Remove the cardamon pods and whole cloves, and serve with rice or naan.
Per serving 258kcal/ 13.6g fat/ 1.3g saturated fat/ 21.8g carbohydrates/ 15.9g fibre/ 9.3g protein
