What’s in the Crock? Chickpea Curry.

This is a long-time favourite, based on a recipe from an old Weight Watchers mag (with a few tweaks).  I usually make a triple batch of the onions etc., freeze two “spice bricks” and use the third right away – then the next two batches are “dump & go”. It’s also a quick-prep if you have chopped onions in the freezer, and use pre-minced garlic.

Spice Brick
(makes one recipe, double or triple quantities if you want to freeze some)

• 1 tbsp curry powder
• 2 tsp olive oil
• 1 1/2 cups onion, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 2 tbsp pickled jalapeno, chopped
• 1 1/2 tsp salt

1. Toast the curry powder in a dry wok over med-high heat until fragrant.
2. Add the oil, onions, and garlic and saute until the onion is tender.
3. Remove from heat and add the jalapeno and salt, stir to combine.
4. Freeze in a 2-cup container (or use right away in the curry)

Chickpea Curry

• one spice brick (above)
• 2 19-oz cans of chickpeas, rinced and drained
• 1 28-oz can of diced tomatoes
• 1 14-oz can of coconut milk
• 1/2 cup chopped fresh cilantro (I use the PC fresh-frozen kind -> no prep required)

1. Dump everything except the cilantro into the slow cooker and stir. Obviously, if the spice mix is frozen it won’t blend in yet – you can either throw it all together the night before (and then stir it when you put it in the cooker) or plan to give it a stir mid-way through cooking.
2. Cook for 6-8 hours on low.
3. Stir in the cilantro & serve over rice

Oh, and a tip that works for most slow cooker recipes: if you throw everything into the stoneware the night before, and then pop it in the cooker on a timer in the morning, the cool stoneware will keep the contents cool for a while on the counter, until they’re actually cooking. But be careful – you don’t want to go straight from the fridge to the heat of the cooker, or you could crack the stoneware. Check your cooker manual for any specific guidelines.

Tags: chickpeas, curry, recipe, slow cooker