members recipes

Easy vegetarian curry. Can easily be adapted into a vegan recipe. Good for using up slightly wrinkly vegetables, tastes even better the next day, and freezes surprisingly well.

Ingredients
100g dried chickpeas, soaked overnight

2 potatoes, medium-sized

1 medium onion, or 3 shallots, sliced

2 cloves garlic, crushed

1 tin tomatoes, chopped or whole

oil

salt, pepper

fennel seeds, cumin seeds, turmeric, a scant teaspoon of each

curry powder of your choice (I use a balti mix)

1 cinnamon stick, 2 star anise

dried or fresh chillies

1 tbsp honey or sugar

vegetable stock (I use Marigold vegan powder)

spinach (optional)

lime, yogurt, coriander to serve

Method
Soak the chickpeas overnight and then cook for an hour in boiling water. Drain and set aside.

Peel and roughly cube your potatoes.

In a pot, lightly toast the fennel and cumin seeds. Add the chickpeas, potatoes, onion/shallot, garlic, turmeric, curry powder and enough oil to lightly coat. Fry very gently for a couple of minutes until the potatoes have taken on the colour of the spices.

Add the tomatoes and a little vegetable stock (you\'ll only need about 100ml). Season with salt, pepper, and add chillies to taste. Throw in the cinnamon and star anise, and stir in the honey.

Cover and leave to simmer for 45 minutes to one hour. If you like, add a big handful of spinach a minute before serving, and stir through to wilt. Serve with plain rice and yogurt, chutney or raita, and a wedge of lime.

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NB: This was crying out for some coriander, but I had none - mine froze! A little grated ginger would have been delicious added at the beginning, too. Don\'t forget to fish out the star anise and cinnamon, they\'re not fun to chomp down on. Any vegetables can be used in place of the chickpeas and potatoes; squash and courgette is very nice. If using canned chickpeas, omit the initial boiling stage.