Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry

The foodie community is vast.  Not a week goes by without me adding another foodie to my google reader and swear to return to read each and every recipe.  Sometimes, it will be weeks or months before I visit again, but I like the support and inspiration that fellow foodies feed me.  Today’s recipe, Sweet Potato, Chick Pea and Spinach Curry comes from Cass of Food My Friend.  More than once Cass and I have posted similar recipes at the same time and I think we approach food in a similar fashion.  Aside from being an talented food writer with a wonderful understanding of all things kitchen, Cass is Australian.

I love Australia.

As newlyweds, my wife and I spent a month in Australia hopping on and off of planes, trains and buses for 30 days while we created the trip of a lifetime.  We explored the city life of Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide, Brisbane and Cairns; relaxed in Hobart and Alice Springs; dived at the Great Barrier Reef; and explored the breathtaking sights of the Uluru, the Outback, Kuranda and Wineglass Bay.  I am getting goosebumps just writing about the trip right now, it’s a shame I wasn’t a blogger back then.  You can see a handful of my photos from our honeymoon on my photography website (note to self – time to update my photography portfolio) and get a sense of how much their is to love.

View Australia 2009 in a larger map

Given that we were travelling on a kosher diet and a newlyweds budget, we didn’t have much opportunity to sample the  culinary landscape down under.  We  lived almost entirely on Vegemite, rice cakes and beer, and loved every single day of of visit.  We’ll return one day, I am sure of it.

Enough from me, I’ll hand it over to Cass while I dream of spending the rest of my life in Sydney, or perhaps Hobart.

Cass from Food My Friend

Hi there American Bite fans! It is so good to be here and meet you all. My name is Cass and I am a vegetarian and passionate foodie. I am also an animal welfare advocate and I am openly bunny loving. I run Food My Friend and would love you to come over for a visit! I have been blogging for a few years now and I love every minute of it. It’s so nice to be able to meet people from around the world and connect on such a level. With Yosef, of course this level is food!

Today, I am making my favourite chickpea curry on mini pappadums with a mango chutney and lots of fresh coriander (cilantro). When I cook Indian food, I think about sitting on the kitchen bench at my Auntie and Uncles home where they would make the most incredible dahl. My Uncle is Indian so they made the best dahl I have ever tasted (not bias at all!). Indian food is my comfort food I guess. I could eat a great big bowl of curry and pappadums on a cold winter’s night and be in heaven.

These are great for canapés or starters. Just as long as you pop them in your mouth before the pappadums go soft! We don’t have any trouble with food sitting around at our place. We live to eat, not eat to live.

When you make the curry paste, if you have a larger food processor or want to do two batches, you can scoop one batch into a zip lock bag and freeze it flat for up to 3 months. It defrosts really quickly but I usually just chuck it into the pan while its frozen. No fuss!

I only ever use half a can of coconut milk when I open it usually, so I freeze the remaining in an airtight container. Same goes for the chillis. They are easier to slice when they are frozen too!

I hope you enjoyed it, I sure did. A big thank you to Yosef for allowing me to take over his space for today and hopefully we will see each other around the interwebs!!

Follow my lead. . .

Sweet Potato, Chickpea and Spinach Curry Recipe

You will need the following ingredients

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil
• 2 teaspoons yellow mustard seeds
• 420g can chickpeas, drained, rinsed
• 1 cup sweet potato, cubed
• 1 cup potato, cubed
• 100ml (a little less than half a cup) coconut milk
• 250ml (a little more than one cup) vegetable stock
• 1 birds eye chilli, thinly sliced (this is sometimes called Thai Chili – according to Wikipedia)
• 2 teaspoons salt
• 1 packet pappadums (approx 30)
• ½ cup mango chutney (thick)
• 1 bunch coriander, thoroughly washed

Home Made Curry Paste Recipe

• 1 small brown onion, diced
• 2 cloves garlic, minced
• 2cm (just under 1 inch) piece ginger, peeled
• 1 teaspoon coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• ½ teaspoon garam masala
• 2 tbsp peanut oil
• 1 tbsp water
• 50g (approx one third cup) almond meal

Using a heavy based saucepan, heat the oil over a low heat and add the mustard seeds. Allow to pop away for approximately 1 minute.

To make the curry paste, place all ingredients into a food processor or mini chopper and blend until smooth and consistent. Scoop curry paste out into the saucepan and stir for approximately 5 minutes using a wooden spoon so that the paste doesn’t catch on the base of the pot.

Add the chickpeas, sweet potato, potato, coconut milk, stock, chilli and salt and allow to simmer over a low heat for 30 minutes. Set aside to cool for 10 minutes.

Prepare pappadums according to suppliers instructions.

Add a tablespoon of curry to each pappadum and top with 1 teaspoon of mango chutney and a sprinkle of coriander.

Chew.