Simple sweet potato and chickpea curry
... this plant-based curry is vibrant, fresh and lightly spiced
This sweet potato, coconut, chickpea and spinach curry left me and my belly with a smile, it is so fresh and vibrant. I decided to create The Buttercup Life on this day in August 2019 while I was writing my 20,000 word Masters thesis. I wanted to document my cooking for myself and for my friends so that I could gain perspective and share my ideas. Curries are one of my favourite things to eat, the more fragrant and vibrant the better, so it makes sense that a curry was my first recorded recipe!
I hope you love it!
Alice x
Ingredients
VGN, DF, Makes enough for 2-3
Sweet potato and chickpea curry:
• 1 red onion (sliced into half moons)
• 2 cloves of garlic (finely chopped)
• 1 chilli (finely chopped)
• 1 tsp hot smoked paprika
• 1 tsp turmeric powder
• 1 bay leaf
• 500g box of passata
• 1 medium sweet potato (bitesize chunks)
• can of chickpeas (rinsed and drained)
• bar of creamed coconut (200g) + a cup of water (or a 400g can of coconut milk)
• 200g spinach
Serve with:
• chopped coriander, fresh chilli & spring onions (optional)
• Hom Mali or any other rice (this is one of my favourite types of rice, it is a sweet fragrant jasmine rice)*
*or see my recipe for brown coconut rice here, you must start this before the recipe though as brown rice takes ~40mins to cook
Method
Melt 1 tbsp of coconut oil in a large heavy-bottomed pan (that has a lid), on medium then add the onion and cook for 2 mins before adding the garlic, chilli, paprika, turmeric and bay leaf. Stir the mixture well then add the passata, fill the box or jar up with water and add this as well. Season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
As the sauce starts to bubble add the chopped sweet potatoes, pop the lid on and leave them to cook for around 15 mins until they are tender. Adding more water to keep the potatoes mostly covered and the sauce soupy.
Rinse and cook the rice at this point following packet instructions.
Once the sweet potato is cooked add the chickpeas and coconut milk (if you are using creamed coconut melt this in its packet in a bowl of warm water and massage it till it's mixed through then sieve it into a bowl before adding to the pan with a cup of water).
After another 5 mins of bubbling away add the spinach and turn the heat off but leave the lid on so the spinach wilts while the rice finishes cooking.
Serve with rice and chopped coriander, spring onions or fresh chilli (I also added some crunchy roasted chickpeas to mine) and enjoy! x