It was graduation day on Friday, finally I am officially done  and although I already qualified in July, I now have my certificate as well, it always feels better when you have a written piece of paper in your hands, dosn´t it  ?  After so much fun and giggles of happiness at the graduation ceremony I wanted to dedicate this month’s post to the leading part of the dish, the humble but quirky chickpea. In German chickpeas are called Kichererbsen, which means giggle pea, god only knows where that translation came from, funny enough Kichererbse was my brother’s nickname in Kindergarden- he still is one or at least he can make me giggle quite quickly.

Chickpeas have a delicious nutty taste with a buttery texture, they originate from  the middle East and are a staple in many countries , they are also the base for some of our favourite snacks , take hummus and falafel, love those.  You can find them sprouted in most health food shops now as well, but why spend big money when you can easily sprout them at home, check out Irma´s sprouting post to see how.

As a member of the legumes family , chickpeas are high in protein and insoluble fibre, so our good bacteria love them too. They also have a good amount of vitamins and minerals to claim for themselves and even better news is that recent research has shown that they are a great choice of those who want to lose a few extra pounds as they have a positive effect on blood sugar and satiety, one more reason to integrate them into your cooking. (1)

I love Thai food and have been meaning to make a red curry for ages,  it´s so delicious and the protein rich black rice with kale and samphire adds extra nuttiness with a sublet crunch and some saltiness- yums!

I always go a bit mad when I am at the green grocers, and I like to use all kinds of different vegetables for this curry, please feel free to freestyle the choice of your vegetables too. I recently added some cabbage into the veggie mix, which went super well with this curry. Adding some green with peas or sugar snaps in the summer or broccoli and Brussels sprouts in the winter make it look prettier on the plate, not to mention the added flavour and antioxidants.

Anyway, enough talk now, here is what you need to get and how it´s all done:

Chickpea red Thai curry with black rice-Ingredient – serves 4

2 tins of chickpeas
2-3 carrots- peeled and cut into thin slices
1 sweet potato- peeled and cut into 1cm cubes
1 red pepper- cut in slices
1 cup of garden peas (frozen or fresh)
2 tomatoes cut into chunks
1 red onion – peeled and cut into 2cm wedges
2 cloves of garlic cut in slices
4 cm of ginger very finely chopped
1 sick of lemon grass
1-2 tbsp coconut oil
400ml coconut milk
400ml vegetable stock
1-2 tbsp red Thai curry paste ( free from artificial colouring or flavouring)
1-2 tsp maple syrup
1-2 tsp fish sauce ( optional) more to taste
1 lime cut into wedges
1/2 a bunch of fresh coriander or/and Thai basil

Pinch of sea salt

Black Rice with kale & Samphire – serves 4

125mg rice ( 1 cup) – soak rice for 2 -4 hours drain and rinse well
250ml filtered water (2 cups)
2 cups of chopped kale
1/2 cup of samphire (optional)
1-2 tbsp ghee or extra virgin olive oil & a pinch of salt to add to the cooking water for the rice

Method:

1. This is a fantastic one pot dish, all you need is to prepare the vegetables and set them aside.
2. Heat up the coconut oil in a large pot at low-medium heat, add onions, garlic, ginger and lemon grass and red Thai curry paste, a generous pinch of salt and saute for 1-2 minutes, stirring now and then.
3. Next add chickpeas, carrots, pepper, sweet potato, tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock, stir well, bring to a boil, then simmer at low to medium for about 30 minutes, add frozen peas in the last 5-8 minutes.
4. To cook the rice rinse well after soaking and cook as per instructions on the package. The rice will likely take less time because of the pre-soaking, so check after 30 minutes to see if it’s already done.
5. Whilst the rice is cooking, blanch the washed and roughly chopped kale in boiling water. Simply leave the kale to sit in the boiling hot water in a bowl for about 8 minutes. If using, add the washed samphire to the water and leave for another 2-3 minutes before draining. If not using samphire, add a good pinch of salt to the kale water.
6. Once the rice is cooked, add it to the kale and samphire, with the ghee or olive and mix well. The samphire will add a good amount of saltiness so please be careful and try first before seasoning.
7. Before serving season the curry with a squeeze of fresh lime juice, salt and fish sauce to taste- start with a tsp and add more to tase. Serve with the curry with the rice and garnish with fresh coriander and Thai basil.

Bon Appetite!

(1) Pittaway JK, Ahuja KDK, Robertson IK et al. Effects of a Controlled Diet Supplemented with Chickpeas on Serum Lipids, Glucose Tolerance, Satiety and Bowel Function. J. Am. Coll. Nutr., Aug 2007; 26: 334 – 340. . 2007.