My Wellness Doctor

An Intro to Indian Cooking

There are a lot of satisfying and tasty plant-based options in Indian cuisine. It is also a great way to introduce beans and lentils into your diet. You can substitute or add in any bean you like eg kidney beans, and make a delicious Indian style dish.

If you like Indian food, I think it is well worth investing in a handful of spices that form the core for so many dishes. These are all typically available in either the spice aisle or world food section of most supermarkets.

Even with this recipe you will make a pretty decent curry using only use the 5 essential spices listed below and leaving the others out. The other spices add further layers of flavour to elevate this dish, but if you don't have them don't worry.

The spices I would recommend stocking up on are:

turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chilli powder and garam masala.

Other spices that are less essential but often come in useful are cardamom pods and cloves (ground or whole).

This recipe also uses a spice mix called 'Chana Masala' which is available at Tesco, Sainsburys & Asda and fenugreek leaves which are also available at Tesco & Sainsburys

(click on the supermarket name for the link).

Recipe

Method

Heat olive oil in pan on a medium heat until hot (when it is hot it will swirl like water when you tilt the pan).
Add cumin seeds. Once they crackle, add the diced onions, garlic and ginger.
Saute for a few minutes until it the onions become translucent. If it sticks, add splashes of water to deglaze the pan.
Add the puréed tomato and 50mls of plant milk (eg soya, almond, oat). Simmer on a medium heat.
Add the ground spices: chilli powder, turmeric powder, coriander powder, cumin powder, chana masala, salt and pepper.
Add in the diced sweet potato, chickpeas & spinach.
Crumble the fenugreek leaves between your palms into the pan.
Simmer with a lid on for approximately 10 minutes, mixing occasionally until the sauce begins to thicken and darken to a deeper red in colour. The sweet potato should be cooked through such that it can be sliced easily on the side of the pan with a spoon. Add water or plant milk if it dries out before the sweet potato is fully cooked, or if you prefer a more liquid consistency.
Optional: I cook this in a pressure cooker which I feel makes the chickpeas more melt in the mouth tender, and the sweet potatoes cook faster.

Serve on a bed of wholegrain rice or chapatti.

Enjoy!

Ingredients

400g Chickpeas (1 tin), drained & rinsed

40g Sweet potato (diced)

2 Onions (medium, diced)

1 Tomato (medium, puréed)

80g Fresh spinach, chopped

1tsp Fresh ginger, peeled & grated

3 cloves Garlic (crushed/grated)

150mls plant milk (I use soya/almond)

1-2tblsp Olive oil

Spices

1/2 tsp Cumin seeds

1/4 tsp Chilli powder (adjust to taste)

1/8 tsp Turmeric powder

1 tsp Coriander powder

1/2 tsp Cumin powder

1 tsp Garam masala

1 tsp Chana masala

1/2 tsp salt (or to taste)

pinch black pepper

1/2 tsp dried fenugreek (methi) leaves