Sunday 9 August 2015

Chickpea and lentil and spinach cheats curry


Chickpeas are a great standby staple and the other day I had a craving for a warming curry, weird I know considering its August in the UK, but the summer weather this year has been really disappointing and even quite cool on a couple of occasions. So I turned to my trusty store cupboard to provide a healthy vegan curry for our supper.

Raiding the cupboards and freezer, I came up with this wholesome tasty recipe which used tinned chickpeas, dried red lentils and some leftover frozen homegrown tomatoes from last year and a couple of chunks of frozen spinach leaves I had forgotten were in the freezer.

The recipe made plenty so had ample to freeze or to take to work in a container for lunch the next day and as you in control of the spice level you can make this curry as hot and steamy as you wish.

The other bonus is as you are using canned chickpeas you can also make this fabulous chocolate mousse for dessert using the retained canning juice.


What you need
  • 1 tin of chickpeas - drained but remember to retain the canning liquid for other recipes.
  • 2 handfuls of cherry tomatoes or the equivalent in canned or frozen tomatoes
  • 2 tbsp tomato ketchup (organic or homemade is best)
  • 1 tbsp mango chutney (optional)
  • 2 - 3 tbsp curry powder
  • 1 tbsp garam marsala
  • 3 blocks frozen spinach
  • 1 large white onion chopped finely
  • Coconut oil or vegetable oil 
  • 3 - 4 tbsp red lentils
  • Vegetable stock
  • Freshly ground pepper - to taste

What you do

  • Heat the coconut or vegetable oil in your pan
  • Add the onion and fry gently until starting to soften but not colour
  • Reduce the heat slightly and add the spices and cook for a few minutes moving about so they don't burn.
  • Add the rest of the ingredients to the pan, using enough vegetable stock to cover the legumes and frozen vegetables.
  • Now bring to a gentle simmer and cook until the frozen vegetable are cooked and the lentils are almost undetectable. Stirring occasionally, this took about 20 minutes for me.
  • Season with freshly ground pepper increasing the spices if so required.
  • Serve with roti or boiled basmati rice
  • If you have any fresh coriander then this would be a good garnish
The dish froze beautifully and also benefits from cooling and reheating another day so that the flavours are more well rounded.



This post is being linked up to MLLA (My Legume Love Affair) created by The Well Seasoned Cook and Food and Spice and hosted this month on Allotment 2 Kitchen.


And also to Recipe of the Week over on at A Mummy Too

Link up your recipe of the week


6 comments:

Jibberjabberuk said...

I love the look of this but I've still got to convince the kids about them!

Stephanie Jane said...

We're in Lancashire at the moment and I made Lentil Shepherd's Pie a couple of days ago - it's definitely not summer in the UK yet!

Have bookmarked this curry as it looks delicious. Love the idea of adding mango chutney during the cooking rather than just as a side dollop on the plate. OH is yet to be convinced that chickpeas are actually food so hopefully this recipe might convince him!

Stephanie Jane

Hijacked by Twins said...

I love using lentils and chickpeas. I find if the are in sauce like this the children will always eat them! x #recipeoftheweek

Riya Singh said...

I am so glad I found your site! Your blog is absolutely gorgeous - the

food and the photography.
order online food delhi

Shaheen said...

Your spot on about the weather, its so undecisive and something like a warming curry is def. appealing. Also love the fact its a quickie. Thanks for sharing with MLLA the round up will be up tomorrow morning.

kim said...

This looks and sounds amazing, i enjoy cooking curries so i am certainly going to give this a try

Related Posts Plugin for WordPress, Blogger...