Veggie and Chickpea Curry

INGREDIENTS

• 200 g (1 cup) dried chickpeas (see note).
  *Tinned are fine if you don't have dry, no need to do the soak process, just drain and rinse.
• 2 tsps yoghurt, whey or lemon juice
• 2 tbsps coconut oil
• 12 curry leaves
• 2 tsps yellow mustard seeds
• 1 tsp cumin seeds
• 1 large onion, sliced
• 3 cm piece of ginger, finely grated
• 2 garlic cloves, crushed
• 1 ½ tsps ground coriander
• 1 tsp garam masala
• ½ tsp ground turmeric
• pinch of ground cinnamon
• 2 long green chillies, sliced
• 2 tomatoes, finely chopped
• 50 g (½ bunch) coriander, roots and stems finely chopped, leaves reserved to serve
• 1 x 400 ml can coconut cream
• 400 g butternut pumpkin, peeled, deseeded and cut into 2-cm pieces
• 500 g cauliflower florets
• 200 g green beans, trimmed and halved
• 120 g baby spinach leaves
• cooked brown rice or brothy quinoa, to serve
• minty cucumber yoghurt, to serve

METHOD

Place the chickpeas in a bowl with plenty of water and 2 tsps of yoghurt, whey or lemon juice. Cover with a tea towel and leave to soak overnight. They will double in size, so you’ll end up with about 2 cups of chickpeas.

The next day, drain and rinse the chickpeas and place in a saucepan. Add enough water to cover the chickpeas by about 3cm. Bring to the boil, reduce the heat and cook, uncovered, for 1–1½ hours or until tender.

Heat the oil in a heavy-based saucepan over medium heat. Add the curry leaves and cook for 30 seconds until bright green and crisp. Use a slotted spoon to transfer the curry leaves to a plate. Set aside.

Add the mustard and cumin seeds to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute until the seeds pop and become fragrant. Add the onion, ginger, garlic, coriander, garam masala, turmeric, cinnamon and chilli and cook, stirring, for 3–4 minutes until the onion softens. Add the tomato, coriander roots and stems, coconut cream, pumpkin and cauliflower, and cook for a further 3–4 minutes until the vegetables soften. Stir in the beans, chickpeas and spinach, season and cook for a further 2 minutes or until the spinach has wilted and the vegetables are tender.

Spoon into serving bowls, top with the coriander and curry leaves and serve with brown rice. A dollop of minty cucumber yoghurt is a delicious offset to the heat and spice.

If making to freeze, don't garnish yet, store in freezer safe container until required.

NOTE
If you can get your hands on a 2-cm piece of kombu or wakame (types of seaweed that you can find in most health food stores), pop it into the liquid when you’re soaking and cooking the chickpeas – it helps to soften them.