Easy Chickpea and Butternut Curry with Black Rice

In a bid to create more delicious and easy dinner recipes, I created this chickpea curry. It is really easy to throw together. Once everything is prepped and in the pan, you can focus on doing some other meal prep. Or just sit back and chill while it cooks, whatever really. The afternoon/dinner/bath time fiasco tends to be a rather busy time, which is why I love creating large dishes that make for great leftovers. We usually use leftovers either for lunch, a dinner the next day OR to freeze for a can't be fuuu..bothered night. You know the ones - when you don't have the energy nor the inclination to pull a meal together. Yup, those ones (just quietly, it happens to me often).

I love a good chickpea dish, although admittedly I don't cook them enough. I am trying to incorporate more and more plant-based dishes into our diets. Much to my husbands disgust of course, he is an avid meat eater. There's a few reasons why I want to increase plant-based dishes like this chickpea curry. Firstly, while still being high in protein, chickpeas are reasonably cheap. We choose to buy all grass-fed, free range and organic meat, which is really quite expensive. The less we need to buy the better. Secondly, while we ethically source our meat, it still places a larger burden on the environment then a chickpea plant does. Lastly, there is much to be said for the health benefits of increasing plant-foods in the diet. Other delicious plant-based dishes include my Asian Inspired Nourish Bowl, Caramelised Leek and Pumpkin Soup and my Mexican Nourish Bowl.

Preparing Legumes

I'm not sure about you but I like to buy my legumes dry and boil them up myself. All you need to do is soak them overnight with a pinch of salt to help to remove the phytates. The next day you boil them until they're tender, which can take a few hours but you don't have to watch them the entire time. Just check on them every now and then to make sure there is enough water. You will need to add a few cups of water here and there. I always prepare at least double then what I need so that I can freeze some in portions. Anyway to reduce time spent prepping foods is good by me. Read more about the benefits of incorporating legumes into your diet here.

On a side note: my focus at the moment is creating quick and delicious (and of course, healthy) dinners. While this dish isn't super quick to make, it makes enough for 8 serves, meaning you can freeze half for a dinner another night. So a little bit more time in prepping and cooking this dish saves you time later down the track.

I hope you love this recipe!

Enjoy,

Sarah
xx

Easy Chickpea and Butternut Curry with Black Rice

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Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cook Time: 40 minutes

Total Time: 55 minutes

Servings: 8 large serves

Author: Sarah Bell

Ingredients

• 3 cups chickpeas cooked
• 1 brown onion
• 2 tablespoon ghee use extra virgin olive oil for dairy free
• 2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1 medium sized butternut squash skin removed and diced
• 900 mL coconut milk tinned
• 1 large zucchini spiralised or thinly sliced
• 2 cups peas frozen or fresh
• 2 cups black rice or brown rice
• ¼ cup coriander finely chopped
• extra coriander to serve
• sea salt to season

Instructions

• Place ghee in the base of a large casserole pan on a medium heat.
• Slice brown onion in half, remove skin and then thinly slice vertically. Add onion to the pan and saute until tender.
• Once onion is tender add garam masala, turmeric and curry powder, stirring until flavours become fragrant.
• Add coconut milk, chickpeas and diced butternut squash. Simmer on medium-low heat for approximately 30 minutes.
• Add black rice to a medium sized saucepan with about 5 cups water. Bring to the boil and continue to boil until rice is tender. Once tender, remove from heat and keep covered with a lid. Strain before serving if required.
• Once butternut squash is tender, add frozen peas and coriander. Stir through.
• Once peas are cooked, turn off the heat and add zucchini. Stir through. Season with salt if desired.
• To serve spoon rice into bowls and top with curry and extra coriander if desired.

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