EASY TO MAKE CHICKPEA & TOMATO CURRY

Around this time of year, I expect to be cooking all types of Spring recipes, with my usual winter warming dinners confined to memory for the time being. But alas the weather had other plans this St. Patrick's weekend, and yesterday morning we found ourselves under a blanket of snow in Kilkenny....AGAIN! I think I'm one of those people who likes the idea of snow and the first little outting in it, but after that I'm done with it. The last snow was only a few weeks ago and I turned into a total grouch. Determined not to allow that happen again - even for a single day - I was all go yesterday. I was up at the crack of dawn, mopping out floors and cleaning out cupboards. By 10am I had a batch of Banana and Apple Muffins made. I used my recipe for Blueberry and Banana Muffins, but added chopped apple in place of blueberries. Next up I made a roast red pepper and feta quiche, and I never make quiche! By then, I was already thinking about dinner.

Low on supplies of fresh vegetables, I did some pantry bingo and settled for a quick and simple curry. Even at the times when I'm low on vegetables, I always seem to have onions, green pepper and potatoes. I don't know about you, but green pepper is always the poor relation to red and yellow peppers in my cooking. And of course, I wouldn't be Irish and it wouldn't be Paddy's Day if there weren't a few potatoes knocking around the house. For this recipe, I cook the potatoes separately so it's ideal if you have left over cooked potatoes, and that is something that most Irish households have at least once a week. Am I right?!

This recipe started out loosely based on a chana masala recipe. I always think if you are stuck on what to order from your local Indian, chana masala is a great option. It's also so easy to make at home. Spice wise, I used ground coriander, ground cumin, chilli powder and cardamom. If you asked me to name my top five spices to have to hand for home cooking, I think it would be cumin, coriander and chilli, plus smoked paprika and turmeric. They are a good starting point and after that you can add others to your cooking.

I like this curry served with brown rice, some Greek yogurt and with freshly chopped coriander leaves and toasted flaked almonds to top. For something a little extra, add some pomegranate seeds... they are divine in curry. P.S. I've started including a picture of the ingredients for my recipes in each of my posts as I think it's helpful to see the raw ingredients and help you to get a handle on what's need for each dish. I hope you think so too. Keep scrolling for the recipe for my Easy Chickpea and Tomato Curry and enjoy xx

Easy Chickpea and Tomato Curry

Serves 2

Ingredients

1 tbsp coconut oil

1 white onion, finely chopped

4 cloves garlic, minced

1 thump sized piece of ginger, minced

Small handful of coriander, stalks and leaves (separate the stalks from the leaves and chop both)

1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp ground cumin

1/2 tsp ground chili

1/2 tsp sea salt

4-5 cardamon pods (seeds only)

1 400g tin chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1 400g tin plum tomatoes

1/4 cup flaked almonds

Method

Cook the potatoes in boiling water until soft and tender. Remove the skins and chop into bite size pieces.

In a large saucepan, add the coconut oil and heat it over a medium heat.

Add the onion and cook for about 4 minutes. Then add the green pepper and cook for a further 2 minutes. Then add the garlic, ginger, chopped coriander stalks and all the spices*, plus a tablespoon of water, stir and cook for a further 5 minutes.

Add the tomatoes, chickpeas and cooked potatoes, reduce the heat to low and allow to cook for 30-35 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Serve with warm brown rice. Top with Greek yogurt, some toasted flaked almonds, chopped coriander leaves and a sprinkling of pomegranate seeds.

Enjoy x

*Use a flat knife to flaten the cardamom pods and extract the seeds. Discard the pods and grind the seeds using the back of the knife.

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