Plantain and chickpea curry

A thick and flavaful curry, this is one of our most-loved vegan dishes when we do food events – people always come back for more.

Credit: Bloomsbury

• serves

  4

• prep

  10 minutes

• cook

  30 minutes

• difficulty

  Easy

A tasty base is important to make the perfect curry, so we first create a paste by lightly caramelising finely diced onion with garlic, spices and a likkle bit of water. This then combines with a great balance of other ingredients: the chickpeas absorb flavours well and go with the sweetness of the plantain and nutritious callaloo. It’s a great-tasting one-pot meal that can also be eaten with rice to make it go further.

Ingredients

• 3 tsp (15 ml) vegetable oil
• 1 medium onion, finely diced
• 4 cloves garlic, finely chopped
• 3 tsp grated fresh ginger
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 6 tsp dried mixed herbs
• 3 tsp chilli powder
• 1 tsp all-purpose seasoning
• 4½ tbsp curry powder
• 125 ml water
• 200 ml coconut milk
• 2 400 g cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 4 ripe plantain, peeled and sliced
• 1 scotch bonnet pepper (chilli)
• 3 spring onions, sliced
• 1 tsp salt
• 3 tsp freshly ground black pepper
• 150 g fresh callaloo or spinach
• White rice, rice and peas or roti, to serve

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in a pot over a medium heat, then add the onion, garlic and ginger and sauté for 5–7 minutes until the onion is soft. Add the cumin, mixed herbs, chilli powder, all-purpose seasoning, 3 tbsp of the curry powder and a tiny bit of the water; stir together. Add just a tiny bit of the coconut milk and mix together to form a paste.

2. Add your chickpeas, plantain and scotch bonnet and mix into the curry paste, then add the rest of the water and coconut milk and stir.

3. Add the spring onions and remaining curry powder, along with n stir gently. Simmer for a further 5 minutes before removing the scotch bonnet and serving.

Recipe from Original Flava: Caribbean Recipes from Home by Craig and Shaun McAnuff (Bloomsbury, HB, $49.99). 

Cook's Notes

Oven temperatures are for conventional; if using fan-forced (convection), reduce the temperature by 20˚C. | We use Australian tablespoons and cups: 1 teaspoon equals 5 ml; 1 tablespoon equals 20 ml; 1 cup equals 250 ml. | All herbs are fresh (unless specified) and cups are lightly packed. | All vegetables are medium size and peeled, unless specified. | All eggs are 55-60 g, unless specified.

A tasty base is important to make the perfect curry, so we first create a paste by lightly caramelising finely diced onion with garlic, spices and a likkle bit of water. This then combines with a great balance of other ingredients: the chickpeas absorb flavours well and go with the sweetness of the plantain and nutritious callaloo. It’s a great-tasting one-pot meal that can also be eaten with rice to make it go further.