Chickpea Curry

Wow! I am completely surprised and humbled at the attention my first blog post received. The positive feedback has been amazing I absolutely loved reading through every message and email. I hope to acknowledge all suggestions and answer every question within my next few posts. And as thrilling as this immediate interest in my blog is, what I am even more excited about is all the people out there who truly want to get cooking! This page is already becoming what I wanted; all about YOU! 

Aside from general know-how, the most prevalent concern from my readers was that of time. And let me assure you, from managing the grocery, to cooking, to cleanup,  there are numerous ways to cut back on the minutes (and sometimes hours!) spent chained to the shopping cart, stove and sink. But the vast majority of questions this week can be summarized with “How can I cook a healthy dinner for my family while still having time to spend with them?”  As I have already mentioned, there are several ways to save your all too precious time; all of which I hope to share very soon!  However, I know you are looking for an easy way to start shaving minutes off your meal-prep tonight, so my suggestion? Make a one-pot meal!  Contrary to popular belief, it is completely possible to compose a well-rounded, complex dinner without using (and inevitably cleaning) every piece of kitchenware you own.

In a Hurry? Try My Curry!

Because I have quite the arsenal of go-to single-vessel suppers, I had a lot of fun deciding what recipe to share this week.  Between stews, soups, and stir-fry’s, I make a one pot meal at least three times a week. But last week in particular, I had spent the day with my husband and son at the zoo, and by the time we got home I was just exhausted. My feet were throbbing from walking around for hours in my cheap tennis shoes; my back ached from hauling the sweetest 20 pounds of baby ever in an infant carrier on my chest; and despite applying what seemed like half a bottle of sunscreen, the lingering heat from the Texas rays remained on my shoulders. Just as I had collapsed on the couch, it hit me, Oh yeah. Dinner.”  

Situations likes these are when it’s easy to rationalize going through the drive through, or even simpler still, ordering delivery.  I had spent a long, hot day outside; my husband and I were both very hungry and we were in no mood to have to wait to eat. And I certainly didn’t feel like cooking. But in the same amount of time (or even less!) it would have taken for one of us to have to drive to a fast food restaurant, order something not even good for us, and drive back home, I knew I could throw together a healthy, filling and delicious meal that would be much more rewarding than anything we could get in such short notice. 

One of the many things I love about food and cooking is the fact you can make it as simple or as intricate as you desire. And while speed and convenience are generally my main motivators in the kitchen these days, sometimes while lowering my knife, freshly sharpened, down to my cutting board, I can feel  the all too familiar satisfaction from my prep-cook past of manipulating countless veggies into perfectly symmetrical dices, slices,  juliennes and more.  I also get over that craving just about the time I hear *CRASH* “Maaamaaa! And see the dog’s water bowl upside down…” So yeah, back to speed and convenience… 

So when I opened my pantry and the canned chickpeas we bought on sale earlier that week immediately caught my eye and I knew, “Duh. Curry.”  Curried stews have always been an easy go to for me. Essentially any variety of vegetables, grains, beans, meats and even many fruits can be cooked together in the warm spices of South Asia.

Usually, curries are slowly stewed but as we now know, a successful meal is not always equated to how long you spend on it. By using canned and frozen components (FYI frozen vegetables can be just as healthy, if not more so than fresh), you save plenty of time actually preparing the dish while still allowing the flavors to develop together. 

**Before we get started a quick note about spices**

The quality of the spices you use can affect the quality of your dish. While both whole and ground herbs and spices can last a few years in your cabinet (depending on the type), I recommend replacing ground every 6 months and whole every year. This will ensure they are fresh and prevent you from having to use half a bottle just to get decent taste. But I get it, life happens and spices can add up on your grocery bill. That’s why there should be a handy little “best by” date right on the bottle you can go by. Just don’t hesitate if you think you need to add a little more to pump up your flavor. Actually, NEVER hesitate if you think your food needs more of something because after all, this is YOUR dinner!!!

Because today is all about speed, I used a jar of pre-made curry powder.  If you are interested in my homemade curry powder recipe, I am listing it at the end of the post so feel free to check it out.          

Chickpea Curry

Serves 6-8

Tools needed:

·         Cutting board

·         Large, sharp knife

·         A large pot

·         A large spoon or spatula

·         A tablespoon measurer

·         A can opener

Ingredients:

·         2 tablespoons oil or butter

·         One large onion

·         3 cloves garlic

·         2-4 tablespoons curry powder (amount used depends on your preference)

·         1 tablespoon plain chili powder

·         8 ounces tomato sauce

·         Two 15 ounce cans of chickpeas

·         32 ounces vegetable broth

·         2 cups frozen peas

·         1 bunch kale

·         salt

Instructions
     

*Wash ALL produce before cutting into it. Even if you are removing peel! Also, always wash the tops of your cans off too before opening*

1.       Dice your onion.
  ***If you don’t feel comfortable dicing the onion in this manner you can always use pre-diced frozen onion. No knives needed and it will also save you time!

-Start by slicing the onion in half starting at the root to create two equal portions.  

-  Remove the paper skin and lay the onion half flat towards the edge of your board for better leverage.
-Now, CAREFULLY make horizontal slices without going all the way through the onion. (Don’t go too far back to the root until you are comfortable with this technique because your knife can quickly slip. No shame in being conservative here!)

-Next, while using one hand to hold the horizontal slices in place, make vertical cuts. This will create your dices. Again, everything is still intact on the root end

  * make your horizontal and vertical slices closer together for a smaller dice and further apart for a larger dice. For this recipe I made mine about ¼ in thick but it doesn’t matter. In fact, if you have never done this before, I recommend going on the larger side anyway.

- While holding the onion together with one hand, carefully make horizontal cuts again to release the dices. Look at that nice pile of lovely, diced onion!

*I know this seems like a lot of steps but I promise, once you get used to this technique you will be able to dice an onion in less than 15 seconds.

2.       Mince your garlic (mince is a fancy word for tiny dice)

** While I feel nothing can replace the taste of fresh garlic, feel free to save time by using a couple of tablespoons of the diced garlic that comes in oil. Just be sure to refrigerate it after opening!

-place the garlic clove on the cutting board and lay the thickest part of your knife (toward to handle) flat on top on the clove.

- Pressing the palm of your hand on the blade, carefully smash the garlic. This will not only separate the paper, but it will flatten the clove for easier mincing.

-Then, run your knife horizontally and vertically making your slices very close together. (Just like our jalapeno from last week’s post) and now just chop up any rouge, larger chunks and your garlic is minced!

3.  Strip your kale leaves from the stems (you can dice your stems and throw them in the pot with the garlic, it adds flavor and all kinds of healthy goodness to you meal. Or, you can use them the next morning in a green smoothie like I happened to). Lay the leaves on top of each other and roughly chop. I like to start with larger-ish pieces since they wilt down.

Ok enough of the time consuming stuff… nothing but smooth sailing from here on out!

4. Heat the oil in the pan on a medium high heat for a few minutes. The oil should be shiny but not starting to bubble or fizz

5.  Add your onion to the oil. Using your spoon, coat the dices in the oil and add a little salt.

Cook them until they are starting to become soft and a little translucent. Or, you can cook them longer until they start to turn a light brown (this is called caramalization), but know this can take a while. So, if you are watching the clock, I would go ahead and just cook until soft.

6. Turning your heat down a little, add your garlic to the onions and stir around. You will know the garlic is cooked through when that incredible garlic aroma fills your nose and it looks visibly softer.

 7. Add in your curry spices and chili powder and stir, coating all the onions and garlic. Let this cook together for about a minute, stirring the entire time. This toasts up the spices a little but keep the mixture moving because it can burn.

8. Now, add your tomato sauce. Stir well and admire the fabulous little curry base you just made in mere minutes!

9. Stir in your chickpeas, juice and all. You can always drain and rinse, especially if you want to watch your salt intake, but since we are speed-cooking, the thick, flavorful juice will really help thicken the sauce. If you do drain and rinse, just add a little more broth.

10. Pour in your vegetable broth and give the whole pot a nice, big stir. Turn your heat up to medium high again; bring to a boil and let cook for about ten minutes

                               

*** We interrupt this recipe to bring you another time-saving tip***

Dishes. Blah. AmIRight? To avoid a lengthy cleanup at the end of dinner, use this moment while your food is solo-cooking to wash up! I always start cooking with an empty (or mostly empty) dishwasher and a sink full of hot soapy water. This way, I can load and scrub as I go. Even if this just means using a spare minute to wash one pan or utensil, that time really adds up and you end up washing quite a few dishes in the process. And with a low-maintenance meal like this one, you can clean your cutting board, knife and tablespoon now (and can opener if you used it already) and all you are left with is a pot and spoon! Ok PSA officially over…. Back to your dinner….

11.  Once your broth has bubbled and reduced a little, now is the time to add your peas

*frozen veg basically only needs to heat up, so to maintain its structural integrity, wait until you are almost done cooking to add to you dish*

                                           

12. Now just leave your pot boiling and allow it to reduce until the juices thicken and become sauce-like, stir in your kale And… You. Are. Done!

*always wait until the very end to add any leafy greens because they will wilt away to nothing if they overcook.

**Because of the chickpeas, I find this meal filling all on its own. However, you can whip up some rice or lentils using a 2:1 cooking ratio. This means 2 parts water to 1 part rice or lentils (For example 2 cups of water to 1 cup of grains) and simmer until tender, usually about 20 minutes for me. Depending on your heat you may need to add more water during cooking or you may even need to drain off some in the end until you get used to it.

  Now let’s make this recipe all yours! Here are a few of my suggestions but as always, go crazy and customize this dish to fit your needs and taste buds.

·         You can use any frozen vegetable you desire in this dish; I just so happened to have peas at the time. I also LOVE cauliflower, bell peppers, and mushrooms in my curry. And sweet potato and squash and all kinds of greens and coconut and pineapple and jackfruit and…. Ok you get it, use anything you want!

·         And while this curry happens to be vegan, some shredded chicken and a touch of cream would work beautifully.

·         Also, if you want to take the time, fresh veggies work just as well, just slow your boil down to a steady simmer and cook right in the pot until they are soft.

·         For a scrumptious curried soup, just don’t reduce the broth down very far.

·         The broth can be exchanged for beef or chicken, just like the fat used can be practically any cooking oil or even butter.

Just as a promised, my curry spice recipe is listed below.  But if you want to switch up your `flavor with minimal effort, there are jars of red and green curry paste at most major grocers.

Curry Blend

Tools needed:

·         8 oz jar

·         Non stick pan

·         Coffee grinder, mortar and pestle or any small, electric blending device (I use a NutriBullet)

          

Ingredients:

·         4 tablespoons coriander seeds

·         1 Tablespoon cumin seeds

·         1 tablespoon cardamom seeds (you will have to bust these little seeds out of their pod. You can do this by smashing them garlic-cloves style like mentioned above if they don’t pop out easily,  or just use ground cardamom)         

·         2 tablespoons turmeric powder

·         2 tablespoons mustard powder

·         2 tablespoons PLAIN chili powder (beware chili powder blended with herbs  and other spices)

·         1 tablespoon cayenne powder

·         1 tablespoon cinnamon

                                                                               

                         Instructions:

1.       Put the coriander, cumin and cardamom seeds in a cold pan and with the heat on medium, lightly toast until they become very fragrant, usually 5-10 minutes (keep them swirling and moving the entire time because they WILL burn!)

2.       Mix the toasted seeds with the remaining ingredients

3.       You can either put the mixture right in the jar and grind as you use it (this maintains freshness a little better) or blend the entire mixture at once.