Chickpea and Vegetable Curry of Dreams

We first made this slow cooker curry on a Sunday when we were home all day (such a rare treat!).  While technically a vegan dish, its original intention was to become a side dish for meat.  Bwahahahaha.  We had so much meat in the fridge, and I wanted to make up a big batch of side vegetables that could easily go beside any other meal we were serving up.  I'd had a lot of salad recently so wanted something that felt like carby comfort food but was really just veggies and beans.  We made a big batch and it lasted five nights for the two of us :)  As a main rather than a side dish, it serves three nights for two.  After bite one on night one, we were in love.  This curry is beautiful served over rice, as a side, or even as a stand alone meal.  It is creamy and healthy.  Even the most carnivorous person will love this vegan delight.

Ingredients

• 1 can chickpeas/garbanzo beans, drained and rinsed.
• 1 handful of green beans - topped and tailed, chopped into approximately 1 inch segments
• 1 carrot, diced
• 1/2 cauliflower - florets only and chopped small (I put everything through my nicer dicer to make all of the components small and uniform.  Yes I bought something from the tv)
• 1 red and 1 green capsicum, diced
• 250g baby spinach
• 1 brown onion, diced finely
• 2 small red chillies, sliced.  I left the seeds in, you may wish to take them out
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 1 tsp minced ginger
• 400ml can of diced tomatoes (I prefer Italian)
• 270ml can of light coconut milk
• 400ml vegetable stock
• 2 tsp curry powder (I use keens)
• 2 tsp baharat (OPTION: If you don't want to make baharat, just use equal parts cumin, coriander seed and paprika instead, but I highly recommend the baharat - trust me you will love it and use it in heaps of other dishes.  I like to make a big batch and store it in an airtight container with my other spices.)
• 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper (if you like it spicy)
• 1/2 tsp ground cardamon
• Salt and pepper

Potential Spins

Swap any vegetables you like.  I think that sweet potato would be a beautiful addition/swap.  You can play with the spice mix as well if you like.  Serve it however you see fit.  Double the vegetable stock to make it a soup!  Add a squeeze of lemon at the end for a kick.

Method

1. Cook the onion and chillies in some rice bran oil in a frypan until the onion becomes translucent.
2. Add garlic, ginger and spices, stir through the onion and chillies until fragrant.
3. Transfer this to your slow cooker and top with chickpeas and other vegetables, the canned tomatoes, stock and salt and pepper.  Stir through.  Place the lid on and cook on High for 6 hours.  At this point it may look like it needs more liquid but it doesn't.
4. After the 6 hours are up, add the coconut milk and spinach, stir though.  Cook on Low for a further 2 hours.  It should smell divine by now.
5. Serve however you like it or just eat it on its own!

   

   Omnomnom

Our Take Aways

Yumyumyumyumyum. 

After we finished, the Dragon sopped up the leftover sauce with buttered bread with glee.  The chickpeas make it feel very hearty.  This is a fantastic, filling Winter dish.  If you want to serve it with meat, it is actually beautiful spooned over the top of chicken and even steak as a vegiful sauce.