I love, love, love curry. That was something that was definitely a bummer about leaving the UK. In the town I lived in, which was quite small, there were numerous Indian Restaurants to choose from, so I always had my fill of curry. I even learned how to make pretty good curry because the necessary spices were more readily available.
That being said, I somehow have not been able to perfect any of my curries since I have been home. Was it the spices? The environment? Something in the water? Who knows!? Regardless, I finally did it, and the result was this wonderful aggregate of flavors.
This curry has a tomato based sauce with a chana masala spice mix I get from the Indian Spice Bazar up the road (pictured above). The carrots and pineapple juice gave it a nice sweetness that was almost reminiscent of vegetable dansak (my absolute favorite curry). Meanwhile roasted red peppers and sweet potatoes added a nice smokiness to the dish that really rounded out the flavor.
I also used dry chickpeas which I cooked in a crock pot all day then added 1.5 teaspoons of baking soda about an hour before cooking the curry. This is crucial if you want soft chickpeas and not crunchy starch balls. I recommend ALWAYS cooking them this way with the exception of falafel, they simply have a better texture.
Ok one last note on rice, then I’ll let you have the recipe. Use basmati, rinse it before using it, and add a tablespoon of coconut oil in once it is completely cooked. This recipe basically requires you to dump a bunch of stuff in a pot and the result is delicious, so I hope you enjoy!
Ingredients
- 1 cup dried chickpeas
- 2 1/2 cups water
- 1 tbsp. coconut oil
- 1 1/2 tsp. baking soda
- 3/4 cups Basmati rice rinsed
- 1 3/4 cups water
- 2 large sweet potatoes diced
- 1/2 tsp smoke paprika
- 1/2 tsp chili powder
- 2 red peppers, de-seeded and halved
- 1/2 yellow onion chopped
- 2 garlic cloves minced
- 3 medium carrots chopped
- 2 bay leaves
- 1 piece star anise
- 1 14.5 oz can of petite diced tomatoes
- 1 6 oz can tomato paste
- 4 tbsp. chana masala seasoning
- 1 tsp fresh turmeric (about 1 inch of a thin turmeric root)
- 1/3 cup pineapple juice
- 4 tbsp. olive or canola oil divided
- salt and pepper to taste
Instructions
- 8 hours before cooking the curry place the chickpeas and 2.5 cups of water in a small crock pot wit a pinch of salt. Set on low.
- Add 1.5 tsp. baking soda to chickpeas 1 hour before cooking
- Preheat oven to 375 F
- Place rinsed rice and water into a rice cooker, set to cook until all liquid is absorbed then set to warm. Stir occasionally to prevent sticking.
- Toss diced sweet potato with 1 tbsp. of oil, salt, pepper, paprika, and chili powder. Place in a metal baking dish cook on the ovens top rack for 20 -25 minutes or until softened and browning
- Place red pepper halves in a metal baking dish. Drizzle with 1 tbsp. olive oil and season with salt and pepper. Place on bottom rack of the oven and bake for 20 to 25 minutes, until soft and browning
- Heat 2 tbsp. of oil in a large pot over medium heat, add onions and garlic and cook until translucent
- Add bay leaves, star anise, and carrot and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes
- Stir in tomatoes, tomato paste, turmeric, chickpeas with all liquid, and chana masala seasoning, cover and let simmer for 10 minutes
- Remove sweet potatoes and pepper from the oven, allow peppers to cool then dice. Add both to the curry along with the pineapple juice.
- Add coconut oil to rice and stir in
- Serve curry over or under rice depending on your preference, gluten free naan also makes a great companion!
Enjoy!
Green and Gluten Free 