Pumpkin-Chickpea-Curry

Hi guys!

It's been a while since you've heard from me and I am sorry it took me so long. I had a lovely Christmas time though and enjoyed lots of great food. But as the new year has started, it brought along a few resolutions for me and I vowed to get one vegetarian recipe a week in. So as today marks the first monday of the new year, here comes 2013's first meat free monday recipe. The weather in Switzerland has been a little cooler, so I decided to try a new recipe for a vegetable curry. Paging through my cookbooks, I found a recipe for pumpkin-chickpea-curry in Donna Hay's "No time to cook". 

Here's the recipe:
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1 onion
2 tablespoons red curry paste
400g (14 oz) chickpeas, drained
600g (21 oz) pumpkin
250g (8.8 oz) aubergine/ eggplant
400ml (13.5 fl.oz; 1 +2/3 cup) coconut milk
250ml (8 fl.oz; 1 cup) vegetable broth
basil
lime wedges and rice to serve

1) Cut the pumpkin and aubergine in about 1cm (1/2 inch) pieces. Cut the onion in small pieces. 

2) Heat the oil in a saucepan over medium to high heat. Add the onion and curry paste and cook for about 2 minutes until the onion starts to soften. 

3) Add the pumpkin, aubergine, chickpeas, coconut milk and vegetable broth to the pan, turn the heat high and bring to the boil. Turn the heat to low-medium and cook the vegetables until soft, about 10 minutes. 

4) Add the basil and season to taste with salt and pepper. Serve with cooked rice and lime wedges.

Serves: 2 according to the book, 4 if you're eating like me
Active preparation time:15 minutes
Total preparation time: 30 minutes
© Copyright: Donna Hay "No time to cook", p. 109 

Here's how mine turned out:

I did serve my curry with rice, but it's hidden under the vegetables. I love to colour of this dish; it is perfect to brighten up a dark winter day. I also exchanged the amounts of coconut milk and vegetable broth to make the curry healthier as coconut milk tastes great, but adds lots of fat to each curry. The pumpkin adds a nice sweet touch to balance the spicier curry and the aubergine is wonderfully soft and flavourful. The chickpeas deliver a healthy dose of protein. This recipe for a vegetarian curry really hit a soft spot with me and I am very likely going to cook it again soon.

Have fun trying and a great start to the new year!