When I don't know what to cook, curry is usually on the menu. That's odd, isn't it? You're probably wondering why I, a self-proclaimed champion of West African cuisine, cook with curry so much. However, it's a fact that West African cuisine is just as diverse and flavorful as Indian cuisine. When I need something quick, spicy, delicious, and easy, I usually cook Indian or Thai dishes, as they are very similar to West African ones. Plus, the ingredients for curry are easy to find in almost any supermarket, unlike the African ingredients, which unfortunately are still mostly only available in specialty food stores.
An even more important reason is that everyone in our family likes curry dishes.
As with all my dishes, I let my imagination run wild every time I prepare curry. Sometimes it's Indian curry, other times purely Thai. Even a mixture of both is quite possible. Occasionally, I also like to try giving the dish a Cameroonian or West African twist. The best part is that it tastes different every time, yet always wonderful. How often have I heard my children say, "Mom, this is the best curry you've ever cooked..."
By the way, I always keep the ingredients on hand at home. Who knows when my inspiration will fail me again!
For today's recipe, I opted for a vegan curry with chickpeas, spinach, and potatoes. This recipe was actually created a few months ago for my son, who has been vegan for several years. With this recipe, I even managed to convince the non-vegans in my family. It tasted absolutely fantastic, even without meat. So, vegan food can be really delicious too!
The whole thing as a video
Vegan curry with chickpeas, spinach and potatoes
Ingredients
- 200g raw chickpeas (or one can of cooked chickpeas)
- 3 medium-sized potatoes
- 200g frozen spinach (f)
- 1 Onion
- 100 ml vegan cooking cream or coconut milk
- 100g chopped canned tomatoes
- 1 Finger ginger
- 5 garlic cloves
- 5 cloves
- 1/2 tsp white pepper
- 6-8 pieces of cardamom
- 2 tsp curry powder
- 50 ml rapeseed/coconut oil
- approx. 1 liter of water
- Salt
Instructions
- Place the raw, soaked chickpeas in a pressure cooker with salt and water and cook until tender, about 25 minutes
- Meanwhile, peel the potatoes and cut them into approximately 3cm cubes. Chop the onion.
- Place ginger, garlic, cardamom, cloves and pepper in a mortar and roughly grind the mixture, then set aside
- Heat the oil in a pot, add the onion, salt, crushed spices and curry powder and sauté for about 4 minutes
- Add the potato pieces, mix well, add about 100ml of water and cook covered for about 10 minutes
- Meanwhile, remove the cooked chickpeas from the pot and rinse them with cold water
- Now add the chopped tomatoes to the potatoes and mix well. Add the frozen spinach and chickpeas, cover with water, and simmer for about 10 minutes
- Now add the cooking cream or coconut milk, mix well, cover, and simmer for another 5 minutes. Season to taste and enjoy with basmati rice or your choice of side dish!
