Easy Chickpea, Peanut Butter & Kumara Curry

Delicious vegetable curry to warm the cockles of your heart.We love hot, spicy food in this family and I am really happy to have this easy-peasy recipe in my collection.

This curry is ready in under 30 minutes, all you need is three basic ingredients for curry sauce – smooth peanut butter, coconut cream, and Mamia’s Ethiopian sauce. Add your favourite curry ingredients such as vegetables, tofu or chicken, simmer for about 15 minutes. Voila! Delicious curry is ready.

Mamia’s Wat sauce combines a list of ingredients such as onion, garlic, ginger, chilli, Berbere spice mix, and herbs. Berbere spice mix smells fantastic. This is a deeply flavourful combination of spicy and sweet, the Ethiopian equivalent of garam masala.

I chose sweet creamy kumara and rich in protein chickpeas for this curry recipe. Such a great combo. Lime juice brings the freshness to curry and balances the sweetness of kumara.

I like to serve the curry with Tamari quinoa or brown rice. Quinoa is unique in that it contains more high-quality protein than any other seed or grain. It has a light, fluffy texture when cooked and a slightly nutty flavour, making it an excellent alternative to white rice or couscous.

Serve your curry with a dollop of a rich tangy yoghurt. This is damn delicious. Coconut yoghurt works well too. Once I read the articles about Persian culinary traditions. Iranians mix yogurt into pretty much everything including stews, omelettes, and soups. I have decided to try it too and explore how it works.

Acidic yoghurt is the secret weapon for flavours, it makes the taste more rich and brings balance to the dish. In addition, fermented foods like yoghurt contain high levels of umami. Umami is one of the five tastes in Japanese cuisine and is said to be the fifth taste after sweetness, sourness, saltiness and bitterness. Seems like pure magic!

INGREDIENTS 
2-3 Serves 

2 medium size orange kumara tubers, peeled and cut into chunks (about 2 cups) 
1 can organic chickpea, drained 
2 tbsp smooth peanut butter 
1/2 cup Mamia`s sauce  
(Mamia’s sauces available in three options: medium spicy, mild and kiwi hot) 
1/2 cup coconut cream 
2 1/2 cups vegetable broth 
1 teaspoon coconut sugar 
juice of half of a lime 
salt 

For quinoa: 

2/3 of Cup quinoa (I use mixed quinoa: red, white and black) 
2 cups drinking water 
1 Tbsp of Lemon juice 
3 Tbsp of Tamari sauce 

To serve:  

Roasted peanuts, chopped 
Coconut yoghurt 
Fresh coriander leaves, chopped 
Crispy fried shallots 
Fresh chilli, sliced 
Lime wedges 

DIRECTIONS 

1. Quinoa. Rinse quinoa with cold water using a sieve until the water that comes through is clear. Place the quinoa in a saucepan with 2 cups drinking water, lemon juice, and Tamari. Let the quinoa boil two minutes, cover with lid, then let it simmer 10-15 minutes till all the water has been absorbed. 

1. Curry. Heat a saucepan, add Mamia’s sauce. Cook slowly on a low heat until fragrant about 2 minutes. Add peanut butter and mix well using a silicone spatula. Working with a spatula, add a hot vegetable stock little by little. Add chickpea, kumara chunks, and coconut sugar. Make sure, that kumara fully covered with sauce. Put the lid on the saucepan and cook until kumara nice and soft. Stir in coconut cream. Season with salt, drizzle with a lime juice. Remove from the heat. 

1. Serve immediately with a cup of quinoa, coconut yoghurt, chopped peanuts, crispy shallots, fresh coriander, chilli, and lime wedges. Enjoy! 

Crispy Fried Shallots. Finely sliced, deep-fried shallots are used as a condiment in Asian cuisine. I usually buy it in an Asian store and keep in an airtight container.