Veggie and Chickpea Coconut Curry

Geoff is away for work tonight so that leaves me with the opportunity to play in the kitchen. To his credit, Geoff does love to be my guinea pig when it comes to trying new things in the kitchen but he is more of a “meatatarian” than a vegetarian. Tonight I had a hankering for something simple and easy, and that can mean vegetarian and better yet slow cooker. I found the inspiration for this recipe in a Canadian Living magazine mini-cookbook insert that was floating around the counter (Potato, Squash and Chickpea Curry was the original name).  When I went searching through the cupboards and fridge I found that I had most of the ingredients and could fake the rest with a few substitutions.

While I made this without any meat, chicken and a few peanuts (at the end) would be awesome additions to the pot. Also, today was a pretty busy day so I did not really have a lot of time for fooling around in the kitchen so I skipped a couple of steps but not sautéing the garlic, ginger and onion before throwing it in the slow cooker.  I know this would have been a nice touch but it was still quite delicious.  If I was having company, I would take the extra effort.  I tend to like my curry pretty hot so you can adjust the amount of heat to a level that makes you happy.  In the recipe below, I used what I had on hand so it is not a traditional curry! Feel free to play with the proportions and the veggies to find something that you like.



Simple easy vegetarian dinner for one...yum!



1 ½ cup	Carrot, chopped
½ cup	Turnip, chopped
2 cup	Potatoes, chopped
1 tbsp	Vegetable oil (this is normally used to fry the onions, garlic and ginger; I still threw it in as you need fat to carry the flavour)
1	Onion, diced
2 cloves	Garlic, minced (adjust to your taste, I added extra)
1 tbsp	Ginger, minced
3 tbsp	Mild curry paste ( I added extra as I like it hot)
1 can 1 can	Coconut milk Chickpeas
1 cup	Chicken broth (I admit, I did say that this was vegetarian but I did not have any vegetable broth and I used powdered chicken stock and I am really convinced that this is really chicken)
¼ cup	Peanut butter ( I made the switch to a “Just peanuts” type of peanut butter but anything will do)
½ tsp	Salt
1 cup	Green beans, chopped (The recipe called for green peas and while the green beans were good, I think the green peas would have been a little better)
2 tbsp	Fresh cilantro! (Love it)

This is what I did....

In a slow cooker, combine all the ingredients except green beans (or green peas) and cilantro by stirring all together. The peanut butter will not blend easy so after about and hour remove cover and stir again. Cook for about 6-8 hours. About 10 minutes before serving add the green beans (peas) and cilantro.

AND the recipe police did not show up, but if you are interested...

What I should have done....

In a large skillet, heat oil over medium heat; cook onion, garlic and ginger. Stir occasionally until onion is golden brown (about 7 minutes). Add curry paste, cook until fragrant (stirring).After about 1 minute, add to slow cooker.

Add coconut milk and broth to slow cooker, stir in peanut butter and salt. Cover and cook until vegetables are tender. 

I served this over some basmati rice!

ENJOY!