Chana Balti

Chava Eichner says: ‘Some say that Birmingham is actually the real home of the Balti so I designed this recipe in honour of Viva!’s Birmingham Vegan Festival in April 2016! It seemed a fitting tribute to the UK’s second largest city. It’s also a great way of using up the chickpeas if you’ve been making recipes with aquafaba (chickpea brine), eg vegan lemon meringue pie, brunch omelette, mayo or chocolate mousse!’

Assemble all the ingredients and equipment as per our list and go for it. This is a simple but tasty dish that can be made in under half an hour if you get a wiggle on! Remember to factor in the cooking of rice around the time you get the curry on the go.

Gluten free

Wheat free

Reduced sugar, diabetic friendly

Quick meal

Low fat, low sugar

Freezable

Cheap

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Total time

30 minutes

Cuisine

Indian and Indian Subcontinent

Meal

mains
lunches

Servings

Kcal

529

Carbs

89.3 g

Protein

17 g

Fat

12.4 g

* Nutritional information per serving. * Counted as one serving of curry with one cup of cooked brown rice.

Ingredients

Curry

2 tbsp plain oil (eg refined rapeseed, which is usually sold as ‘vegetable oil’) You don’t want olive oil or anything like that in curry
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, crushed
1 tin chopped tomatoes
2 tins chickpeas
2-3 tbsp fresh coriander (a good handful)

Spice mix

1 heaped tbsp grated or finely chopped ginger (Top Tip: use the edge of a teaspoon to peel the ginger – quick and efficient!)
1 medium hot chilli, chopped (remove the seeds if you are sensitive to hot food)
1 tsp cumin seeds
1 tsp garam masala
1 tsp turmeric
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp curry powder

Optional

175g mushrooms, roughly chopped
125g fresh spinach, washed and drained

ALL KITTED OUT

Chopping board and knife; small bowl and teaspoon for spices; medium-large saucepan and wooden/silicone spoon for the balti; tin opener; scissors to snip coriander

Instructions

1. Heat the oil in the saucepan until hot then sauté the onion until soft – reduce the heat so the onions don’t catch.
2. Add the crushed garlic and the bowl of spices. Stir in for a minute or two to blend the flavours. Add the tomatoes and cook for 2-3 minutes.
3. Drain the chickpeas (reserve the liquid – aquafaba – and place in an airtight container, eg a clean jamjar. Refrigerate. It will keep for 2-3 days).
4. If using mushrooms, add them to the pan. Simmer for 5 minutes, stir in the chickpeas (and spinach if using) and cook until the spinach has wilted.
5. Add salt to taste and stir in the chopped coriander. Serve with rice, poppadoms, chutney and plain vegan yoghurt such as Sojade (it has the required tartness, unlike some brands).

Keywords

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Chana Balti

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