Chickpea, tomato and spinach curry

I’m always on the lookout for a way to include more vegetables and pulses in my food. I’m not claiming to be a vegetarian – I eat chicken, turkey and pork – but I do try to avoid red meat when I can (although I do love a good spag bol now and again!)

Even though I do eat meat, I always prefer eating fish really and also tend to go for the vegetarian or fish option when I’m out at a restaurant. When it comes to a good curry, I love finding vegetarian ones I can try out – so when I found this recipe through Good Food magazine, I couldn’t wait to try it! 

Here's what mine turned out like! Please excuse the slightly chipped bowl...

Here’s the list of ingredients you will need:

1 onion, chopped
2 garlic cloves, chopped (although I used 3!)
3cm piece ginger, chopped
6 ripe tomatoes (I used 4 because the ones I bought were massive)
½ tbsp oil
1 tsp ground cumin
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp turmeric
Pinch of chilli flakes
1 tsp yeast extract e.g. marmite
4 tbsp red lentils
6 tbsp coconut cream
1 broccoli head, broken into pieces
400g chickpeas, drained
100g spinach
1 lemon, halved
1tbsp toasted sesame seeds mixed with 1 tbsp chopped cashew nuts

Ok, after getting all those ingredients ready, here’s how to cook your curry:

1) Put the onion, garlic, ginger and tomatoes in a food processor and whizz into a puree
2) Put oil in a pan. Fry the spices for a few seconds, then add the puree and yeast extract and let it simmer for about 2 minutes
3) Add the lentils and coconut cream, cook lentils until tender
4) Add broccoli and simmer for about 4 mins. Stir in chickpeas and spinach and let simmer again for a few minutes
5) Squeeze in a bit of lemon juice, then sprinkle the sesame and cashew mixture on top
6) Serve with rice and enjoy!

Does anyone else prefer vegetarian curries to meat ones?

xx