FOOD

A DELICIOUS VEGETARIAN CURRY

By Khrishma Preston, The Alternative Indian

As a Gujarati Indian, I grew up in a vegetarian household. The ethical and environmental benefits of cutting, or at least reducing, meat and fish from your diet are well known. However, a well-planned vegetarian diet can also support weight loss, improve quality of diet, and thus reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The main meal at home is traditionally referred to as ‘dal-bhat-shaak-rotli’ which is essentially ‘lentils-rice-currybread’. This is where the concept of the Thali comes from - a plate of food consisting of a variety of different dishes. Thalis can range from a simple everyday meal to an extremely elaborate plate with several curries stir-fried and steamed, numerous savoury snacks and Indian sweets and puddings depending on the occasion.

This month I give you my budgetfriendly recipe on a Chola/Channa/ Chickpea and Courgette Curry. Chickpeas, a legume, are an excellent source of complex carbohydrates, which are slow to digest and help maintain a more balanced blood sugar level. They are rich in many antioxidants, minerals, nutrients, and vitamins (including magnesium, folate, vitamin C, calcium, zinc, phosphorous, vitamin B6, and potassium). For this recipe, I am using canned chickpeas as these are readily available. However, cooking your own batch of dried chickpeas is easy, they do taste better, and you can control the texture. You could also batch make this meal to portion and freeze more cost-effectively with dried chickpeas. Dried chickpeas will triple in size once cooked thus you get more bang for your buck with these. The best method I have found to cook chickpeas on a stove top is to soak them overnight (minimum ten hours) in the fridge with triple the amount of water to chickpeas. Then wash, and simmer on the stove in salt water for at least two hours. Traditionally a boiled potato would be added to this dish but instead I am using a courgette to lessen the bulk and increase the nutritional value. If you do not have a courgette, replace this with a medium-to-large diced boiled potato. Serves 3 - 4 people Cook time 35 mins

if using canned chickpeas or pre-cook the chickpeas as suggested above

INGREDIENTS

2 tbsp rapeseed or vegetable oil 1 tsp mustard seeds 1 tsp cumin seeds 4-5 black peppercorns 3 cloves

1 tsp ajwan seeds or a pinch of thyme 1 large onion, finely chopped 4 cloves garlic, crushed 1 inch fresh ginger, paste or grated 1½ tsp salt (adjust to personal taste) 1 tsp turmeric 2 tsp chilli powder or sweet paprika or 1 of each 2 tbsp cumin-coriander powder Approx 1 tbsp jaggery or sugar or sugar alternative

1 courgette, diced small 1 x 400g tin chickpeas 1 x 400g tin chopped tomatoes Juice of half a lemon

3/4 cup water (depending on how thick you would like the gravy) 2 tsp garam masala Fresh coriander

METHOD

In a large pan over a medium high heat, heat the oil. Add the mustard seeds and let them cook until they start to pop consistently as popcorn would. Add the cumin seeds, whole black pepper, cloves and the ajwan seeds - cook for a further minute before adding the onions. The onions shouldn’t brown, so lower the heat a little if needed and stir occasionally. As these soften introduce the garlic, ginger and half the salt and cook for 4-5 mins. The powdered spices – turmeric, chilli and cumincoriander – are combined and mixed in along with the jaggery or sugar. Thus far it will be a pretty dry mix. To ensure the spices are cooked through, add a couple of tablespoons of water and stir. Once the water has evaporated, add the courgette and stir-fry in the spice mix for a few minutes. Add the chickpeas, tomatoes, lemon, additional water and the rest of the salt (to taste). Stir well, partially cover and simmer for 20 mins. Add the garam masala and stir well before taste testing. Make sure you adjust salt/jaggery/lemon to personal taste and stir in some freshly chopped coriander (if preferred) just before serving.