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

Prawn, aubergine and green bean curry

After all that rich festive food, has you got a craving for something a little different, well I have just the recipe for you. A delicious prawn, aubergine and green bean curry, rich in tasty vegetables ideal to serve with rice for an informal supper.

Its so darn easy as well, and can be on the table in about 30 minutes start to finish, if you want to impress your guests why not whip up some roti or naan to serve alongside this dish.

What you need

• Bag of frozen raw king prawns - defrosted or fresh prawns
• 1 onion - peeled and roughly chopped
• Good handful of chopped green beans (I used frozen homegrown)
• 1 aubergine - topped tailed and cut into chunks
• 2 tomatoes- chopped
• Squirt of tomato puree (or you could use passata)
• Fish stock or coconut milk if you like a creamy finish (I do)
• Salt and Pepper
• Curry paste (from a jar or make your own)
• A little coconut oil or vegetable oil

What you do

• Heat the oil in a frying pan, add the onion and fry until softened and translucent
• Add the curry paste to the pan and cook for a few minutes to release the flavours, add the aubergine to the pan, stir fry adding a little more oil if necessary.
• Once the aubergine is starting to soften add all the other ingredients to the pan except for the prawns
• Cook until the sauce starts to reduce and the vegetables are cooked, add the prawns and simmer until they are cooked through.
• Serve strewn with fresh coriander and the accompaniments of rice and roti
• Enjoy

Cauliflower Curry Sauce

Cauliflower seems to becoming the ingredient of the moment, recently I have seen it being used as a grain substitute to make pizza and garlic bread and in this post as the basis for a nutritious base for a curry sauce which is versatile enough to be used in various fish, meat and vegetable curry dishes. Its an easy way for you to get kiddies to eat this vegetable without knowing as well as you would never know that it contains cauliflower.

Originally I understand this was slimming world recipe so its no fat and high in fibre, its easy to make and freezes well so you store away in portions appropriate to your family size.

What you need

• 1 cauliflower - pulled into florets
• 3 tsp vegetable stock powder
• 3 tbsp curry powder (use whatever strength you like)

What you do

• Place the cauliflower florets, curry powder and stock powder in a saucepan along with enough water to just cover the cauliflower.

• Bring to the boil and simmer  until soft
• Allow to cool for approximately 5 minutes
• Blend using a hand blender to a smooth consistency, thin with more water if desired.

• Freeze or use immediately in curry of your choice. I like to add additional vegetables and possible some mango chutney or dried fruits for a more fruity finish to my curry.

                                                

A blog challenge created by Citrusspice and hosted by Sliceofme

Slow cooker creamy chicken curry

Firstly apologies for not the most wonderful of photographs, its a quick snap taken before demolishing this dish and I was very hungry. I love my slow cooker but up until recently I hadn't made a curry in it, its so nice to return home from work with supper ready and just needing some rice to accompany it.

I used some of the last of the courgettes from the garden and also some other waifs and strays from the fridge too, along with some trusty chicken thighs and a tin of coconut milk.

What you need

• A Slow cooker
• Chicken thighs - chopped into bitesize chinks
• Onion - finely chopped
• Curry powder
• Mango chutney / bengali pineapple chutney
• Courgettes - cut into quarter slices
• Red pepper - cur into little chunks
• Handful of frozen peas
• Tin of coconut milk
• Strong chicken stock
• Salt and pepper

What you do

• Preheat your slow cooker
• Fry off the onion,pepper, courgettes and chicken 
• Place in slow cooker
• Add the curry powder, chutney, coconut milk and a little chicken stock
• Cook on slow for approx 6 -8 hours until the chicken is tender
• For the last 40 minutes of cooking add the frozen peas, turn slow cooker to high
• Serve with basmati recipe and poppadoms.

Keralan King prawn curry

Now that finally we have some warm weather I have a craving for a creamy fishy curry, this Keralan inspired curry is aromatic rather than hot hot spicy and is wonderful with any white fish or king prawns, using coconut oil and coconut cream or milk it tastes tropical and is ideal served on a warm summers evening in the garden. Quick to pull together and mostly from store cupboard ingredients it's a favourite in this household. The recipe is inspired both by a Nigella recipe and also Anjum Anand's Spice Tailor coconut curry.

Ingredients

• Firm white fish (hake or similar) or raw king prawns (1 large fillet or about 20 prawns)
• 2 tsp curry powder or tumeric ( I prefer curry powder)
• 1 tbsp coconut oil
• 1 large onion, sliced very finely into half rings
• 1 large fresh red chilli - de seeded and very finely sliced
• small piece of fresh ginger - peeled and grated
• Good pinch of freshly ground cumin
• Coconut milk or coconut cream ( I have used both and both work fine ) - 1 tin
• 1 tbsp tamarind paste (I got mine from Foxs Herb and Spices)
• Fish stock powder - about 1 good tsp ( I use Essential cuisine)
• Fresh coriander leaves to finish
• Sea salt
• Lemon or basmati rice to serve with

Method

• Firstly chop your fish into chunks if using and then marinate in some of the curry powder
• Melt your coconut oil in large frying pan and gently cook without colouring (tip sprinkle with a little salt as this makes the onions sweat rather than browning) until softened.
• Once the onions are softened add the finely chopped red chilli and the grated ginger, cook for a few minutes, then add the remaining curry powder, cumin and tamarind paste and cook for a few more minutes.
• Now add the coconut milk or cream to the pan and fish stock powder, if necessary add a little water to get your desired consistency of sauce, stir and simmer , taste for seasoning.
• Add the fish to the sauce and cook for a few minutes until cooked or your prawns are pink , do not over cook your fish, it only takes a few minutes to cook.
• Serve with rice and roti and serve sprinkled with fresh coriander.

Check out an earlier post for a roti recipe