LULLY LULLY CHICKPEA CURRY

If you are not a fan of spending time in the kitchen then you probably have herbs and spices in your pantry that you bought yonks ago that are now sitting unloved in your cupboard. Set your spices free people! A curry made from scratch is so much more fragrant and tasty than a jar from the supermarket and is a great way to use up all those odds and ends. Once you've made your spice mix, all you need to make this curry is some fresh vegetables, garlic, ginger, tomatoes and chickpeas (of course!) and you are onto a winner.

You can even leave the chickpeas out if you like but they are kind of the "meat" in this veggie curry so I'd maybe replace them with some Quorn pieces or paneer so you still have that heart to the dish. If you are going to use chickpeas and you have the time then get some dried ones, soak them over night and then boil them up the next morning ready to use. They taste better than tinned but sometimes we don't always have the time to faff around with dried chickpeas so don't hate yourself for using tinned (I do all the time!).

Now there are a lot of ingredients going on here. If you also have the time, inclination and regularly have curries you could scale up the quantities and make a big batch of the spice mix. You could then store this in a sterilized jar in your fridge to dip into whenever you want to whip up this curry on the fly. If it still sounds like a lot of work or you can't get hold of any of the ingredients then click here for some of my other curry recipes. You may find one that is more suited to what you have in your cupboards or more geared towards your taste.

As for the ingredients in the curry itself, make sure you keep the onion, garlic, ginger, tinned tomatoes and seasoning in there as these, alongside with the spice mix are what make the base of you

curry taste super special. I like to add cherry tomatoes in to ramp up the tomato flavors but they are not essential. I've talked about the chickpeas above and as for the rest of the veg, you can swap these out for any other veg you might prefer in your curry. The recipe can totally be amended to suit you.

This lully curry recipe might take a bit of work but trust me it's worth it when you taste the results. You'll get four delicious servings out of it; perfect for a curry night with family or friends.

Veggie Chickpea Curry

For The Spice Mix

1 Tsp Cumin Seeds
1 Tsp Coriander Seeds
1 Tsp Paprika
1 Tsp Black Peppercorns
1/2 Tsp Onion Salt
1 Tsp Garam Marsala
1 Tbsp Dried Coriander Leaf
1 Chopped Whole Green Chili
2 Tbsp Lemon Juice
2 Tbsp Chili Oil
  1/2 Tsp Salt

For The Curry

 

1 Large Chopped Red Onion
1  Large Peeled And Diced Carrot

2 Grated Cloves Of Garlic
1 Tsp Grated Ginger
1 Chopped Yellow Pepper
5 Chopped Mushrooms
8  Halved Cherry Tomatoes

400g Tin Chopped Tomatoes

400g Tin Of Chickpeas (Drained)

Salt And Pepper To Season

1. Take all the ingredients for the spice mix and use a pestle and mortar to blend into as smooth a paste as you can get. Leave to one side.
2. In a lightly oiled pan on a medium heat, throw in the onions, carrots, garlic and ginger and fry until the onions are beginning to soften.
3. Throw in your spice mix and fry for two minutes, stirring constantly so the onions and carrots get covered in all the lully spices in the paste.
4. Throw in the peppers, mushrooms and cherry tomatoes and fry until the mushrooms begin to soften.
5. Add in the chopped tomatoes, chickpeas and season with the salt and pepper.
6. Add a splash of water if needed to bring the liquid just above the veg. Give everything a good mix and bring to the boil before reducing to a simmer for 20 minutes. Stir every few minutes to stop anything sticking to the bottom of the pan. 

Serve your curry straight away on a bed of rice and if you are feeling especially peckish then why not go all out and make some naan bread to go with it (or just buy it in - I won't judge you!). Make a proper night out of it and get the beers in too. It's great  way to treat a bunch of mates to a homemade meal on a Friday night! Your curry should now have a deep spicy kick to it and the chickpeas alongside with all those yummy vegetables will really fill a hole on a cold Autumn evening leaving you with that warm comfy feeling inside. That is why I call this my lully lully chickpea curry!