Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry

This vegetarian curry, suitable for vegans too, is just fabulous. It's a recipe by Nigella that was published in the New York Times back in March 2006, from one of a series of articles by her entitled At My Table. The only problem is that it makes an enormous amount and, for those of us used to working in metric, the ingredients are measured in those slightly off-putting American cups. So here is my adaptation of the recipe, reducing amounts by approximately half, and converting all measurements to metric. If you've never made it do give it a try, you won't regret it. The list of ingredients looks rather long but don't let that put you off, it isn't difficult to make.

Nigella suggests serving this with white rice and steamed broccolini, I decided to go for the slightly healthier option of brown basmati rice, and steamed green beans ... because that's what I had. We love this recipe, with the coconut milk it is really creamy, and it has just the right amount of heat to lift the sweet potato and chickpeas without masking the taste.

If you've never made brown basmati rice and want to give it a try, here's how you do it. Add one measure of rice, unwashed, plus salt, to a pan with two measures of boiling water. Stir once, bring back to the boil, cover and simmer for 40 minutes. For rice I do use cups as the ratio of grain to water is important, I never weigh it. One cup (250ml) of rice is sufficient for four persons I find.

Sweet Potato and Chickpea Curry – Serves 4

• 1 medium red onion, peeled and cut into chunks
  
• 1 clove garlic, peeled and sliced
  
• 1 small chilli pepper with its seeds, sliced
  
• 3-4cm piece of ginger, peeled and cut into chunks
• 2 tbsp vegetable oil
• 1/4 tsp dried chilli flakes
• 1/4 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp ground coriander
• 1/2 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• 3 cardamom pods, lightly crushed
• 1/2 tsp salt
• 450g orange-fleshed sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into 2cm cubes
• 225ml coconut milk
• 1/2 tbsp tamarind paste
• 275ml hot vegetable broth
• 400g jar of cooked chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 tablespoons chopped cilantro leaves

In a food processor, combine onion, garlic, chilli pepper and ginger. Pulse until finely chopped. Place oil in a large sauté pan over medium-low heat. Add chopped onion mixture and sauté until softened, about 5 minutes.

Add chilli flakes, ground ginger, ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cardamom pods and salt. Stir to mix. Add sweet potatoes and stir until well covered in spices. Stir in the coconut milk.

Dissolve tamarind paste in hot broth and add to pan. Bring to a boil, then reduce heat and simmer, partially covered, until sweet potatoes are just tender, about 25 minutes. (Taste potatoes to be sure they are cooked all the way through, and allow additional cooking time if necessary.)

Add chickpeas and simmer until heated through, about 5 minutes. Adjust salt to taste. Transfer to a warmed bowl and sprinkle with chopped cilantro.

Cook's note: Measure all the spices into a small dish before you start cooking. As the sweet potatoes oxidise very quickly once peeled, either prepare them in advance and submerge them in slightly acidic water or, as I do, peel and cube them whilst the onion mixture is cooking. I use creamed coconut to make coconut milk, so if you do the same, make sure you have boiling water at the ready ... you will need it for the vegetable broth too.