Hello you lovely people! I have a really special recipe to share with you today. You know those smells that instantly remind you something? The scent of this Sweet Potato and Chickpea Coconut Curry cooking is one of those for me. I first made this when I began to ‘meal prep’ in my final year of medicine. I was living on campus but at home on the weekends, and every Sunday night after dinner (for a good 3 months!) I would make this dish, or a slight variation of it, to bring back onto campus with me. That way, I had a ready-made dinner for another week of crazy study, which I could eat with different veggies and grains each night. You’re probably thinking ‘What?! The same meal prep recipe every week? For 3 months?! Is she mad?!’ – and you’re totally right, I was a little crazy in final year, especially in the mental last 3 months before our big exams. I kept making this recipe because I knew it like the back of my hand, and to be honest, its SO DAMN TASTY that I enjoyed it just as much every week!

When I started intern year, I really kicked off with meal prep experimentation, and so although I made this curry a few times initially for lunches on the go, it was only recently while I was planning blog recipes for you guys that it popped back into my head. I knew I HAD to share it with you! Its a perfect dish for meal prepping, or if you’re cooking for a crowd. The blend of spices I use for this recipe includes ALL of my favourites, and I think that’s where the dish gets its ultimate comfort factor from. Plus, it has sweet potato. You can’t go wrong.

So here it is! I am SO excited to see what you guys think of it, this dish gives me such a hygge feeling. It’s SO quick to make too, and all the ingredients are easily sourced in any supermarket. The picture below is an example of my using it for meal prep with greens!

Recipe (Serves 4-5)

Ingredients

• 1 tbsp olive or rapeseed oil
• 1 garlic clove, finely minced
• 1 white onion
• 1 tsp of ground cinnamon
• 1/2 tsp each of ground cumin, turmeric and coriander
• 1/2 tsp mild chili powder
• 1 large sweet potato
• 1 400g can of chickpeas
• 1 400ml tin of chopped tomatoes
• 1 400ml can of low fat coconut milk
• 2 handfuls of spinach
• Optional for extra veggies:
  • 1 small head of broccoli (I LOVE broccoli, so I’m biased. I basically add it to everything I make…don’t judge! A green or red bell pepper would be perfect either!)

Method 

1. Preparation always comes first! Finely dice the onions and garlic clove, and chop the sweet potato and broccoli into bite-sized pieces (for the sweet potato, aim for 1-inch chunks).
2. Place the spices into a little bowl and give a stir to combine well.
3. Time to start cooking! Heat the coconut oil in a medium-sized pot until melted, then add your onions and minced garlic. Cook for 3-4 minutes until the onions are translucent.
4. Next, add your spices to the onions, and cook until the onions are coated.
5. Add the tinned chopped tomatoes and coconut milk to the pot. Stir until combined.
6. Add the chopped sweet potato and broccoli/pepper pieces, and stir again. The liquid level of the curry should be high enough to cover the sweet potato (about 2/3 of the pot depth), because the sweet potato is going to cook in the sauce. Add extra water to bring up the liquid level if you think it’s too low.
7. Drain and rinse the chickpeas, and add to the curry.
8. Turn the heat down to a simmer, and leave to cook for at least 30 minutes. Check on the curry after 15 minutes, and stir again to make sure its not sticking to the pot.
9. At the 30 minute mark, give the curry another stir, and do a taste check. If you think the sauce needs a little extra spice, go for it! At this stage I usually add a sprinkle extra cumin and cinnamon, and season with salt and pepper.
10. Stick a fork into one of the sweet potato chunks to see if they’re cooked – if the fork easily pierces them then they’re ready!
11. When your sweet potatoes are cooked through, add the spinach to the curry. Allow it to wilt into the sauce, then stir, and cover to cook for another 5 minutes.
12. Hey presto, its time to eat! This curry is perfect served with grains like rice, quinoa etc or with greens, whatever you fancy! I usually use the 30 minutes cooking time to prepare my rice/quinoa/greens so they’re ready when the curry is!

Enjoy guys, I would LOVE to see your photos if you try this recipe out! Tag me @theirishbalance on Instagram if you give it a go!

Ciara 🙂 x