Tag: anti inflammatory

Ode to the Chickpea… quick and tasty chickpea & spinach curry

Hello lovely moms,

This week I am sharing another one of our favourite family recipes. Not only is this chickpea curry super tasty it’s also really nutritious! This recipe was sent to me by my beautiful niece Gracie (thank-you Gracie!) and when I first made it both her and my husband Rok were raving about it.

Honestly, over the years it has taken me a while to develop a taste for chickpeas,  however now, the more I make chickpea dishes the more I crave them.

Chickpeas are super nutritious, they’re a great source of plant-based protein along with fibre, iron, zinc, phosphorus and B vitamins! They have a host of benefits: for example, they are known for helping lower inflammation in the body, reduce oxidative stress and maintain blood pressure! In addition, they are especially beneficial for us ladies in balancing our hormones and also good for the prevention of wrinkles.

Pretty awesome in my opinion ;0

Also in this beautiful dish is spinach, another fave of ours, (we consume spinach at least once per day in our smoothies/juices) spinach is a powerhouse of nutrients such as folate, niacin, vitamin A, vitamin B6, vitamin C, vitamin K & iron.

It is also very beneficial for good eyesight and it protects the skin against harmful UV rays. Note, a recent study suggests that thylakoid found in spinach can curb cravings and hunger which can further help in weight loss.

So let me have the recipe I hear you say, well here it is:

  • 1 onion (or 2 small onions) roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves of garlic
  • a thumb of ginger
  • 4-5 large tomatoes quartered  (or 1 jar of Passata)
  • 1 tsp cumin
  • 2 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 tsp turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp mustard seeds
  • 1-X 400g tinned chickpeas drained and rinsed (or in my case, I use 2X 400g as I like to use a lot of chickpeas in this recipe 😉 )
  • 1 X small can of organic coconut cream
  • 100 g spinach
  • salt and pepper to season
  • half a lemon
  • coconut oil for frying

Method:

  1. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, and tomatoes to a food processor (or in my case I use my ninja blender) and process until smooth.
  2. Heat up coconut oil in a pan over a medium heat. Meanwhile, crush the mustard seeds and coriander seeds until fine.
  3. Fry all the spices (cumin, coriander, turmeric, garam masala, and mustard seeds) for two minutes.
  4. Stir in the blended sauce (tomato, onion, garlic, and ginger), and simmer on a low heat for 20 minutes.
  5. Add the coconut cream and chickpeas and heat through for 5-10 minutes.
  6. Season with a pinch of salt and drizzle lots of lemon juice, then add the spinach. Cook through until the spinach has wilted.
  7. Then serve with either rice or in my case I love serving with roasted potatoes (the Irish way ;0)
  8. Other options including adding 1 tsp of hot chili powder and serving with fresh coriander.

This is one of those dishes that’s even tastier the next day, that’s if you manage to keep leftovers… 🙂

So there you have it, Moms, as always love to hear from you… do you have any favourite chickpea dishes or, if you decide to give this dish a try, please let me know what you think?

Love and best wishes, L X

PS: Calorie Count (based on 4 servings) approx 344 calories/serving – note this excludes the roast potatoes ;0

Credits:

  1. We are so Vegan 
  2. The Happy Pear
  3. Yup its Vegan

Resources: