Vegetarian Recipe of The Week: Creamy Chickpea Curry
A few weeks ago I adapted a recipe from "The Step By Step Instant Pot Cookbook" and made it vegetarian to suit my dietary needs a little better. The original recipe was made with 3 lbs of skinless, boneless chicken breasts, and wanting to try the "gravy" with chickpeas for myself, I ladled some gravy into a bowl and added some drained and rinsed chickpeas. I then topped with brown rice and warmed it up. It was DELICIOUS! My family got to enjoy the chicken curry and I was in food heaven with my vegetarian version. I just knew I wanted to make this again but for the second try I made it stove top without any chicken at all. I utilized the same ingredients...fragrant onions, garlic, and ginger, savory spices of garam masala, cumin, paprika and turmeric, creamy coconut milk to give the sauce an extra silkiness and diced tomatoes and tomato paste to add some freshness to the dish. After sautéing and allowing all of the ingredients to meld, I then finished with a can of drained and rinsed chickpeas. I thoroughly enjoyed this dish and did not miss the chicken one bit. It was satisfying, exploding with Indian flavors and comforting. Although I enjoyed it in the late spring, it would be the perfect meal on a cold and rainy night. It truly is the perfect comfort food. I paired it with some mini Naan bread to scoop up the sauce with. I highly recommend this recipe!
For the full recipe adapted from Jeffery Eisner's Instant Pot Cookbook(which is an incredible
cookbook, by the way, I have not made one recipe that I didn't care for), continue reading below. Since I am diabetic, I also calculated out the nutrients to be more intentional about my macro intake. This happens to be a wonderful recipe for diabetics as it is a balance of healthy fats, fiber, whole grain carbs and plant based protein. I hope you enjoy it as much a I do!
Creamy Chickpea Curry Serves 7(1/2 cup = 1 serving)
Ingredients:
4tbsp Avocado oil
1 medium onion, chopped
3 cloves of garlic, minced
1/6 tbsp ginger, minced
1-1/2 cans of drained and rinsed chickpeas
1/2 tbsp paprika
1-1/2 tsp garam masala
1/2tsp cumin
1/4tsp turmeric
3/4tsp season salt
2/3 of a small can of petite diced tomatoes, juice and all
1/2cup unsweetened coconut milk
1/4 cup plain greek yogurt
4oz tomato paste
1/4 cup heavy cream(or just add another quarter cup of greek yogurt)
Steps:
Gather all of your ingredients and then prep them to get them ready before you start cooking. This makes it so much easier to cook when you have everything ready.
Place avocado oil into pan and let it heat up.
Once oil is hot, add aromatics(onion, garlic and ginger) and sauté until translucent and soft, about 5 minutes.
Add chickpeas and stir into aromatic mixture until they are warmed through, about 2-3 minutes.
Add spice mixture and stir until everything is well coated.
Add diced tomatoes and coconut milk and stir into mixture. Add greek yogurt, but don't stir it in. Just let it melt into chickpea mixture. Cover and let simmer for about 5 minutes.
Remove cover, stir everything together and then add tomato paste and heavy cream. Mix in well.
Serve over brown rice and add some cilantro as a garnish. Enjoy!
Nutrition(not including brown rice):
Calories per serving: 389 Fiber: 13.6g
Total Fat: 14.5g Sugars: 9.8g
Sat. Fat: 4.29g Protein: 15.2g
Sodium: 132g Total Carbs: 25.8g
Total Cholesterol: 51.6g
This recipe is a powerhouse of nutrients: Healthy whole grain carbs, an adequate amount of plant based protein, a generous amount of fiber, healthy fats coming from the avocado oil. Plus all the micronutrients including: heart healthy potassium, vitamin C, lycopene, calcium and anti-inflammatory nutrients from ginger and turmeric. It is just an overall win-win recipe in my book and definitely worth a try. This one now has a permanent spot in my recipe book.
I hope you enjoy this satisfying and tasty meal. Let me know in the comments if you did try it and what you thought of it! Until the next post,
In good health,
Kris