A few weeks ago we visited Costco, and as usual, we came out with a trolly full of multi-packs which including 12 cans of chickpeas and 24 cans of chopped tomatoes. I’ve been wondering what to do with the chickpeas since then. I’ve only ever used canned chickpeas to make houmous so was a bit stumped. Last night we were really pushed for time so I thought I’d have a go at a chickpea curry before going out. It took about 20 minutes to make from scratch and I got back from running to discover that dinner had received full marks from the 8-year-old!

It’s vegan, child-friendly (not spicey!), full of fibre & protein, and dead-easy to make. Here’s the recipe:

• A good glug of EV Olive Oil
• 2 cans of chickpeas (29g total protein)
• 1 can of chopped tomatoes (4.4g total protein)
• 1 can coconut milk (5.2g total protein)
• 1 brown onion (~2g total protein)
• 3 cloves of garlic
• 1 teaspoon of cumin
• 1 teaspoon of curry powder
• 1 teaspoon of garam masala
• Salt & black pepper to taste

Optional

• Coriander and lime to garnish
• Spinach

Instructions

1. Chop the onion and fry in the olive oil on a medium heat for 5 minutes to soften
2. Add the garlic and fry for another minute
3. Add the spices and fry for another minute (might need to add more olive oil at this point)
4. Add the tinned ingredients – chickpeas, tomatoes and coconut milk
5. Cook for 10 minutes and add salt to taste
6. If you’re using the spinach, mix this in for the last minute
7. If you’re using the coriander, chop and sprinkle on top and serve with a slice of lime

Serve with couscous (normally about 65g dry couscous per person) or brown rice (75g per person). This recipe should feed 3 or 4 hungry runners!

Bonus recipe – Garam Masala spice blend

• 2 tablespoons coriander seeds
• 1 tablespoon cumin seeds
• 1 tablespoon cardamom seeds
• 1 tablespoon whole black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon fennel seed
• 1 teaspoon mustard seed
• ½ teaspoon whole cloves
• 2 dried red chile peppers, seeds discarded
• 2 tablespoons ground turmeric

Grind everything up together in a pestle and mortar- done!