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Chickpea, Butternut Squash and Spinach Coconut Curry with Rice

Chickpeas, butternut squash and spinach simmered in a mild, creamy coconut curry, served on basmati rice mixed half and half with cauliflower rice. A vegan dinner ready in 45 minutes.

Dinner

45

Serves 4

A white plate of creamy yellow coconut curry with chickpeas, chunks of butternut squash and spinach beside white rice, sprinkled with chopped chives

Ingredients

  • 1 tbsp (15ml) rapeseed (canola) oil
  • 1 large onion (about 150g/5oz), finely chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic (about 12g) and a 3cm/1¼in piece fresh ginger (about 15g), finely grated
  • 2 tbsp mild curry powder (check the label for wheat and mustard if you avoid them) and 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 x 400ml (14fl oz) tin light coconut milk
  • 300g/10½oz butternut squash, peeled and cut into 2cm/¾in cubes
  • 2 x 400g (14oz) tins chickpeas, drained and rinsed (about 480g/1lb 1oz drained)
  • 150g/5oz baby spinach
  • 1 tbsp (15ml) lime juice, a pinch of salt and a few snipped chives or chopped coriander (cilantro)
  • 70g/2½oz/⅓ cup white basmati rice, rinsed
  • 300g/10½oz cauliflower rice (ready-made, or about 350g/12oz florets blitzed in a food processor)

Method

  1. Heat the oil in a large pan over a medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, until soft and golden. Add the garlic, ginger, curry powder and turmeric and stir for 1 minute.
  2. Add the coconut milk, squash, chickpeas and 100ml/scant ½ cup of water. Bring to a simmer, cover and cook for 15 minutes, then uncover and simmer for 5 minutes more, until the squash is tender and the sauce has thickened.
  3. Meanwhile, cook the rice in a pan of boiling water for 10 to 12 minutes, until tender, and drain. Steam or microwave the cauliflower rice for 3 to 4 minutes until just tender, and fork the two together.
  4. Stir the spinach into the curry until it wilts, then add the lime juice and season with salt.
  5. Serve the curry on the rice, scattered with chives or coriander. The curry keeps in the fridge for up to 2 days and freezes for up to 3 months; reheat until steaming hot. Cool any leftover rice within an hour, keep it in the fridge, eat it within 24 hours and reheat it only once until steaming hot.

Why it works

A plate gives you about 15g of protein and 14g of fibre for 433 calories, including the rice. Most of the protein and fibre comes from the chickpeas.

Half rice, half cauliflower. Mixing basmati with cauliflower rice keeps the look and texture of rice while cutting the carbohydrate. It brings the plate to 52g of carbohydrate, inside our limit for the blood sugar tag. Serve it all with cauliflower rice to cut it further.

Creamy, not heavy. Light coconut milk gives a rich sauce with less than half the fat of full-fat coconut milk. Butternut squash breaks down a little as it simmers and thickens the curry naturally.

Spinach at the end. Stirring spinach in just before serving keeps it bright green.

Contains coconut. Some curry powders contain wheat flour or mustard, so check the label if you avoid them. For another chickpea curry, try the chana masala.