Curry for Dinner and Lunch!

So, I made some more Indian curry tonight and I'll share the recipe but thought I would also share this tip. I like to divide the leftovers up into containers straight out of the pot, it helps with keeping track of the portion sizes and definitely creates ready to go lunches or other meals for the next few days. Who says lunch needs to be PB&J on wheat with celery sticks and an apple? I'll be showing up tomorrow with chickpea curry over basmati rice and well, a little yogurt because if you haven't figured it out yet...I like plain non-fat yogurt over my curry. It adds a bit of tartness and calms down the spice when I get a little over zealous with that cayenne!

For this dish, I literally walked in to the apartment at 6:15pm and had cooked and eaten by 7:00pm...Yeah, I was hungry and yes, it can be that easy!!!

Chickpea and Pea Curry

3 onions, chopped coarsely

4 cloves garlic

2 tsp olive or vegetable oil

1 tbsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp tumeric

1/2 tsp cayenne pepper

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground coriander

1 cup fresh cilantro

1 cup crushed tomatoes

1 15 oz can of chickpeas, rinsed

1 cup frozen peas

Very similar process to my earlier vegetable curry recipe, so please feel free to refer back for variation on ingredients. Puree the onions and garlic in a blender. Heat the oil in a saucepan. Add the onion garlic paste and cook down until thick (the water will evaporate). Add all the spices, stir for 1 minute or until fragrant. Add the crushed tomatoes and cilantro. Stir for 2-3minutes. Add the chickpeas and peas and simmer for 10 minutes. Voila...quick and easy curry. Serve over basmati rice, quick recipe below.

Basmati Rice

1 tsp olive or vegetable oil

1 tsp cumin seeds

1/2 tsp salt

1 cup basmati rice

1.75 cup water

Heat the oil in a pot, add the cumin seeds and salt, they will start to sputter. Add the rice and water. Bring to a boil. Turn heat down to low, cover and cook for 15 minutes or until water is gone. Note, you can also just cook the rice according to the package directions or in a rice cooker! Whatever makes your cooking easier, because that's what people tend to stick to! Healthier eating is hard enough without the added work.

The meal is a great rice and beans type meal and has a lot of great flavours! Nutritional value is very similar to Kichdi with about 17 g of protein and more carbs because of the rice (approximately 70 g). You could easily serve without the rice and substitue with quinoa or a whole grain pita or chapati. Yum!