Big Brian’s Spinach and Chickpea Curry with Sticky Jasmine Rice

My dad makes a mean spinach and chickpea curry for his only veggie son at all our family get-togethers. Sometimes I try and copy it and this is the closest I’ve come to getting it right.

For those interested, this is a vegan friendly, veggie, and gluten free recipe.

Ingredients

1 onion
2 cloves of garlic
1 centimetre cubed fresh ginger
1 green pepper
1/2 punnet of mushrooms
1 tin of chickpeas
1 tin of chopped tomatoes
100g of fresh spinach
1/2 tin of organic coconut milk
1 cup of thai jasmine rice

Spices used

2 tsps turmeric
2 tsps chilli flakes
1 tsps ground coriander
2 tsps garam masala
1 tsps madras powder

What to do

  • Chop the onions, garlic, ginger, pepper and mushrooms, and fry in a little virgin coconut oil on a low heat.
  • Add all the spices and fry for another 3-4 minutes until all the veg softens and your kitchen fills with delicious smells.
  • Add tin of chopped tomatoes and continue to stir on a low heat.
  • Add the chickpeas and 1/2 tin of coconut milk and allow to cook further and thicken.
  • Add the spinach and stir on a low heat for another 10 mins. (The taste will take a while to mature, so if you have a little extra time, just leave it on, stirring occasionally.)
  • For the sticky jasmine rice, put 1 part rice with 2 parts water, and bring to the boil. Allow to simmer just a little too long to allow the rice to stick.
Big Brian. Here depicted as a wrestler in the WWE 2K14 game.

Big Brian. Here depicted as a wrestler in the WWE 2K14 game.

Gary Milligan