Ingredients
- 2 tbsp coconut oil
- 1.5 tsp cumin seeds
- 4 cloves of garlic
- 2 tbsp fresh ginger
- 1 medium onion
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tsp turmeric
- pinch ground cumin
- pinch cayenne pepper
- 1 tsp ground coriander
- 1 tsp chilli powder
- 1 can tomatoes
- 1 can chickpeas
- 1 can reduced fat coconut milk
- 1 tbsp tomatoe paste
- 1 large sweet potatoes
- 500 mls water
- 100 g baby spinach
- salt and pepper to taste
Sweet Potatoe, Spinach and Chickpea Curry
Most people love a curry and the spices are so good for you. This one offers you all the taste but is a lighter, healthier option than a take away, ready meal or ready made sauce jar full of additives, salt and sugar. A good curry is one of the first things I learned to cook. It's actually really simple and once you understand the flavours, you can easily adapt them for use in other dishes, to create a variety of tasty meals.
- Preparation time: 20 minutes
- Cook time: 45 minutes
- Servings: 4 Servings
- Source: The Holistic Sister
(Don't worry about these huge quantities, yours won't look like this! This is from when I was cooking for a retreat group)
Method
Step 1
Peel and finely chop onion, garlic, ginger and chop sweet potatoes into small cubes. Set aside.
Step 2
Drain chickpeas. Reserve the aquafaba (liquid) in an air tight container in the fridge, to use for vegan baking options. Set chickpeas aside.
Step 3
Heat the coconut oil in a large heavy based pan. Add the cumin seeds once oil is hot and allow to toast and become fragrant on a medium high heat.
Step 4
Add the chopped onion, garlic and ginger. Stir well then add the coriander, garam masala, chilli powder, pinch of ground cumin, turmeric and pinch of cayenne pepper. Cook for 1 minute. Add a few drops of water to the pan and stir everything well.
Step 5
Add the sweet potatoe, tinned tomatoes and water. Cover and simmer for 15 mins, to allow the sweet potatoe to soften.
Step 6
Add the drained chickpeas, tomatoe paste and top with a little more water if the level has reduced too much to continue cooking the potatoes, but not too much. Add some salt and pepper. Mix well, then add the coconut milk. Bring to the boil then reduce the heat, cover and simmer on a medium heat for 20 minutes.
Step 7
Check the sweet potatoe is cooked. Then add the spinach, some salt and pepper to taste and reduce the heat. Simmer on a low heat for a final 5 minutes. If you prefer, you can lightly mash the ingredients in part, to thicken the curry sauce.
Step 8
Serve on its own in a deep bowl with a garlic naan or some brown rice. You can keep this in the fridge in a sealed container for up to a week without the coconut milk or around 4 days if you have added coconut milk. This dish often tastes better the next day. If on the last day, the left overs look a bit sloppy or you fancy a change, try blending it to make a tasty, fragrant soup. You could also add some rice noodles and chopped, gently fried peppers and/or broccoli to the blended sauce, for an Asian style noodle dish.