Chick Pea Curry

Low GI Chick Pea Curry

Dish Notes: This recipe is taken from Antony Worrall Thompson’s gi diet recipe book. Like all savoury stews this is best eaten the day after making – this is so that all the flavours have time to mellow.

Serves 6 – 8

Ingredients
• 250g dried chickpeas (soaked overnight)
• 2.5cm piece of ginger, sliced
• 3 bay leaves
• 7.5cm piece of cinnamon stick
• 3 large onions, roughly chopped
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• 1 tablespoon finely chopped garlic
• 1 tablespoon grated ginger
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 2 chillies, deseeded and finely diced
• 400g tin chopped tomatoes
• 2 crushed black or green cardamoms
• 6 whole cloves
• 1 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds, toasted
• 1 cauliflower, broken into florets
• 225g washed spinach
• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 1 tablespoon chopped mint
• 2 tablespoons chopped coriander

Method:
1. Cook the chickpeas with sliced ginger, bay leaves, 2/3 of cinnamon stick and half the onion in 2 litres water until tender. This should take approx 1.5 hours. When cooked drain, keep liquid but discard ginger, bay and cinnamon.
2. Meanwhile, 45 mins before chickpeas have finished cooking blend the remaining inions in a food processor then with the garlic cook them until soft in a saucepan of heated olive oil.
3. Add turmeric and chillies and cook for a further 3 mins. Add tinned tomatoes and half of the reserved cooking liquid. Bring to the boil.
4. Tie the remaining cinnamon, cardamoms, cloves, peppercorns and cumin in muslin or cheesecloth and add to the tomatoes. Bring to a simmer then add cauliflower and cook for further 20 mins.
5. Add spinach, stir to combine and cook until spinach has wilted. Add drained chickpeas and simmer for further 15mins. Add as much of the remaining chickpea cooking liquid as required to give desired consistency. Remove and squeeze juices from the muslin. Stir in the garam masala, mint and coriander.
6. Serve with brown basmati rice or wholemeal chapattis.

Nutritional Information: 186 kcal, 7g fat, 0.9 sat fat, 0.09g sodium (per portion)