Category: Curries

Curries, Vegan, wellness

Coconut Chickpea Curry with Peanuts and Chili Oil

Featuredby Stephanie BoschLeave a Comment on Coconut Chickpea Curry with Peanuts and Chili Oil
Coconut Chickpea Curry with Peanuts and Chili Oil
Greeting friends!  I hope this day finds you doing well.  At least better than I am, anyway (insert sad emoji).  I am currently on day 6 of having contracted Influenza A.  I’ve never had the flu before, and let me tell you, it’s a whole new experience. The first two days, I could barely get out of bed. I’m sure if you’ve had it yourself, you feel me.
So, I felt a bit off throughout the day, and I knew something was coming. And when the flu hit, it hit hard. It was no surprise when my husband piled three blankets on me that evening, and I still couldn’t get warm. He even tried to warm my socks by the fireplace, a gesture that warmed my heart more than my toes. Sadly, I still couldn’t get warm. I was downright shivering, and it had me wondering why.
Viruses and bacteria seem to multiply poorly when our temperature rises above our normal 98.6°F. When our immune system senses an illness, its need to increase its core temperature causes the muscles in the body to contract and relax rapidly to create heat. This is what causes shivering or chills. It’s also why we develop a fever. Heat destroys pathogens. I’m pretty reticent when taking anything to bring a fever down, as I believe it’s the body’s natural defense mechanism. This is not medical advice, and when a fever reaches 103°F. I go to the doctor. In this case, I just rested; when I felt like it, I ate what I craved.
Just as I could sense the onset of illness, I also knew what my body needed to recover. Our bodies often know what they need if we’d only listen. So, when I finally started feeling hungry, I had an intense craving for curry. Yep!
Curry is made from ginger, turmeric, alliums like garlic and onion, and a mix of chili peppers.  Ginger and turmeric are known for their anti-inflammatory properties and are natural decongestants. Alliums are powerful anti-viral, anti-inflammatory, and immune-boosting vegetables. Chili peppers contain Vitamins A and C and capsaicin, which boosts the immune system and raises your body temperature, making it harder for viruses or bacteria to survive.
Thus, the Coconut Chickpea Curry recipe was born! It is quick and delicious and makes enough for a few meals. I plan to make this a few more times before winter is over. As always, let me know in the comments if you made it and liked it. In health and happiness…

 

XOXO,
Steph
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Coconut Chickpea Curry with Peanuts and Chili Oil

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  • Author: Stephanie Bosch
  • Prep Time: 5 Minutes
  • Cook Time: 15 Minutes
  • Total Time: 20 minutes
  • Yield: 4-6 Servings 1x
  • Cuisine: Indian
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Made with chickpeas, peanuts, and spinach, this recipe is loaded with protein and vitamin C! I added some chili crisp oil to the top for an extra punch of heat. Served over coconut rice, this dish is creamy, savory, and filling.

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil or coconut oil
  • 1 (14 oz.) can chickpeas (drained and rinsed)
  • 2 Tbsp red curry paste
  • 2 Tbsp raw cane sugar
  • 3 cloves garlic smashed and diced
  • 1 (14 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk
  • 2 Tbsp natural peanut butter
  • 2 Tbsp liquid aminos
  • 2 cups fresh spinach (roughly chopped)
  • 1/2 cup cilantro, chopped
  • 1/2 cup peanuts, roughly chopped

Coconut Rice:

  • 1 1/2 cups basmati rice
  • 1 (14 oz.) can full-fat coconut milk

Garnish with chili crisp oil, minced cilantro, and crushed peanuts

Instructions

  1. Add rice to a small pot along with coconut milk.
  2. Stir, then bring to a gentle boil. Turn heat to low, cover, and cook until the liquid has absorbed (about 15-17 minutes). Fluff the rice and set aside.
  3. Next, chop the spinach, cilantro, and peanuts, and mash the garlic.
  4. Add the oil to a large skillet over medium heat. Once hot, add the curry and garlic.
  5. Stir, then add the cane sugar, coconut milk, soy sauce, and peanut butter, mixing well.
  6. Add the chickpeas, spinach, and cilantro, mixing until the spinach is wilted.
  7. Remove from the heat. Serve over coconut rice.
  8. Garnish with crushed peanuts, chili crisp, and cilantro.
  9. Enjoy!

Notes

This is my favorite red curry paste.

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Curries, Soups, Vegan

Curried Dal with Spinach and Sweet Potato

Featuredby Stephanie Bosch4 Comments on Curried Dal with Spinach and Sweet Potato
Curried Dal with Spinach and Sweet Potato

We are so fortunate to have the best Indian grocery store not too far from our house. There are aisles of spices, rice, and about a hundred kinds of dal! Dal in Sanskrit means “split,” but it refers to split and whole versions of various lentils, peas, chickpeas (chana), kidney beans, and so on. So, the chana dal I used for this recipe is a split chickpea! 

The best part of this recipe was the addition of whole spices. Imagine how good your kitchen will smell while sautéing onions, cloves, a whole cinnamon stick, and cardamom. Delicious! You can use any green on hand. I just happened to have some spinach that needed to be used, but kale is a great option, too.

This is an easy recipe for the Instant Pot, too. Use the sauté feature to cook the onions and spices. Then, pick up the recipe at step three and cook on high for 15 minutes. I cubed and browned my sweet potatoes before adding them to the lentils. If you don’t roast or brown them first, you risk them becoming mushy. 

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Curried Dal with Spinach and Sweet Potato

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  • Author: Stephanie Bosch
  • Prep Time: 5
  • Cook Time: 25
  • Total Time: 30 minutes
  • Yield: 6–8 cups 1x
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Description

Curried dal is deliciously satisfying and super easy to make!  You will also have plenty of leftovers!  Serve with warmed naan or toasted bread. 

Ingredients

Scale
  • 1 pound dal
  • 3 green cardamom pods
  • 3 tablespoons coconut oil
  • 1 cinnamon stick
  • 3 whole cloves
  • 1 medium onion, halved and thinly sliced
  • 4 cloves garlic, crushed
  • 1 tablespoon peeled and grated ginger
  • 1 Serrano chile, stemmed and finely sliced
  • 1 sweet potato, peeled and cubed 
  • 1/3 cup yellow curry paste
  • 1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 10 oz fresh baby spinach
  • ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
  • 2 tablespoons unsweetened shredded coconut
  • 2 teaspoons kosher salt
  • 1 lime, juiced
  • 1 full 15 oz can full fat coconut milk
  • Rice
  • Garnish with yogurt, and cilantro, and smoked paprika

Instructions

  1. Rinse the lentils in a strainer in cold water until the water runs clear, then place in a medium bowl, cover with water, and set aside. Using the side of a knife, carefully crack open the cardamom pods.
  2. Add 1 tablespoon of the coconut oil into a large pot over medium heat. When hot, add the cardamom pods, cinnamon stick, and cloves. Cook for about a minute, then add the onions. Cook for 10 minutes, stirring frequently until the onions are browning and soft. Add garlic, ginger, and chile and stir-fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Remove cinnamon stick. 
  3. Drain lentils and add to the pot; add turmeric, curry paste, and 4 1/4 cups of hot water. Turn the heat to high and bring to a boil. Once they are boiling, reduce the heat to low and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes, stirring occasionally, until the lentils are soft and creamy.
  4. While lentils are cooking, warm a skillet over medium heat. Add 1 tablespoon of coconut oil, and when shimmering, add sweet potatoes. Brown potatoes on all sides and cook until they are almost fork tender. Remove from pan and set aside. 
  5. In the same pan, add the remaining tablespoon of coconut oil over medium heat and, when shimmering, add the mustard seeds. When the seeds pop, add the reserved onion mixture and fry for 1 to 2 minutes. Add the spinach, shredded coconut, and 1/2 teaspoon of the salt—Cook for 1 minute. Add the lime juice and stir.
  6. When the lentils are soft and creamy, add the coconut milk and remaining salt.  Add spinach mixture and sweet potatoes—taste for seasoning.  Cook for 5 more minutes, or until potatoes have warmed through.  I added just a bit more curry paste to mine, but I like heat!  Serve in a bowl, and spoon over rice. Top with yogurt, cilantro, and smoked paprika.

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Curries, Raw, Soups

Curried Zucchini Soup with Pistachio Parmesan Noodles

Featuredby Stephanie BoschLeave a Comment on Curried Zucchini Soup with Pistachio Parmesan Noodles
Curried Zucchini Soup with Pistachio Parmesan Noodles

Happy New Year! I hope you are well and enjoyed some form of relaxation with those you love! The holidays can be joyful but a bit of a whirlwind and are here and gone in the blink of an eye! Don’t get me wrong, I love every minute between Halloween and New Year’s, but this year was particularly busy and took a little bit of a toll on my health! I am just now starting to feel better after a rough bout of bronchitis, which I used to get all the time as a kid. Secondhand smoke is fo’ real, and my lungs are physically scarred from years and years of coughing from inhaling the toxic fog. Another reason Covid kinda scares me, ya know?

But this was also the first time I’d been sick in just over 6 years. And I can’t get sick! I have people who depend on me to cook, clean, transport, teach, write, exercise, volunteer, and well, the list goes on and on. And not to mention, cooking for me is a way of relaxing and being creative. So, what’s a girl to do if she can’t cook for nearly 3 weeks? Read, rest, and reflect—a lot. And when I got well enough to cook again, I returned to the kitchen with a significant mind shift. At the forefront was the question, “Am I really feeding myself if I’m not feeding myself well?” Deep, I know. But, alas, you are what you eat.

Listen, I am by no means a junk food vegan, but I not gonna lie. I love chips and cashew queso, like, a lot. And sometimes I get lazy. I also get caught up in convenience foods, Doordash, and sometimes, skipping meals entirely. I also give in to unhealthy cravings, and sometimes I do not feed my body well. This is a far cry from my early days as a plant-based eater–when I was all in. All. In. No oil, no processed anything, no wheat, no starchy stuff. I was a well-oiled machine, lost a bunch of weight, and felt ten years younger. I still feel 10 years younger, but the weight is slowly creeping back, and admittedly, I’m feeling a little rusty.

So the first several days back in the kitchen, I made only raw foods for 4 days. I was amazed at how light yet full and satisfied I felt. I started reading about the miraculous enzymatic functions found in whole foods and how cooking foods actually kill these beneficial enzymes that our food is trying to provide us. I’m not sure I will ever be 100% raw, but I’m definitely game for 50-75%, and who knows!

That said, I’m super excited to share this recipe with you. This oil-free soup is super healthy and completely delicious. It’s also 50% cooked and 50% raw. Part soup part salad (who says ya can’t), I added a Yukon gold to help thicken, some green peas to help brighten, and topped it with a raw zucchini salad that makes me want only to grow zucchini’s in my garden this summer! Pistachios give it a nice crunch and a little protein boost. The basil gives it depth, and the parmesan cheese, well, you know…! Let me know if you made it and how you liked it. I love hearing from y’all. Until next time!

–Steph

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Curried Zucchini Soup with Pistachio Parmesan Noodles

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  • Author: Stephanie Bosch
  • Prep Time: 15
  • Cook Time: 20
  • Total Time: 35 minutes
  • Yield: 4 cups 1x
  • Diet: Vegan
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Description

Delicious and creamy this dairy-free, oil-free soup, will leave you wanting seconds!

Ingredients

Scale

Soup:

  • 2 tablespoons organic vegetable stock 
  • 1 medium onion, roughly chopped
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 1 tablespoon ginger, peeled and chopped
  • ½ jalapeño, seeded and chopped
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt
  • 2 teaspoons organic curry powder
  • 2-3 pounds organic zucchini (about 3 large), 5-6 cups diced, 2 cups spiralized
  • 1 cup frozen organic peas
  • 1 small Yukon gold potato, diced
  • 4 cups organic vegetable stock
  • 1/2 teaspoon black pepper

Noodle Salad Garnish :

  • 2 cups organic zucchini noodles
  • 1 tablespoon organic lemon juice
  • 2 cloves garlic, minced
  • 2 tablespoons organic basil, minced
  • 1/2 cup raw pistachios, finely chopped
  • 1/2 cup vegan parmesan
  • 1/8 tsp fresh ground pepper

Instructions

  1. In a medium-size bowl mix spiralized zucchini, lemon juice, garlic, basil, pistachios, parmesan, and pepper.   I like to make this first and refrigerate.

Soup:

  1. Warm a heavy-bottomed stockpot or dutch oven over medium heat. Sauté onion, garlic, ginger, and jalapeño in 1/4 cup of water or vegetable stock for 5-7 minutes, or until fork-tender. If vegetables begin to stick, add more liquid 1 tablespoon at a time.
  2. Add the salt, 1/2 cup stock, diced zucchini, peas, potato, and curry powder. Sauté 2-3 minutes more.
  3. Add 1 1/2 cups of broth. Cover and simmer until the zucchini and potato are tender, about 5-10 minutes.
  4. Add ingredients to a blender and blend on low-medium speed until smooth. (Be careful–see note*)
  5. Blend well and return soup to the pan; add remaining stock and simmer to warm through. Taste for seasoning.
  6. Ladle soup into a bowl, and using tongs, carefully top center of soup with garnish.  Be sure to get a little bit of everything!
  7. Enjoy!

Notes

*When hot food is inside a blender, and a lid is placed on top, it heats the air above between the food and the blender lid, causing pressure to build up in the blender jar. This pressure can cause the top to blow right off as hot food explodes out the top of the blender jar. Trust me. It’s no fun to clean soup off everything, including the ceiling.

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