Curried Chickpea and Summer Vegetable Stew

Submitted by heather in Ont

"This dish packs so much flavour it’s amazing. The first time I made this we had unexpected company and I have never had so many great comments. You can serve this over basmati rice, sliced pita wedges or top it with grilled chicken thighs. I couldn't find a red hot chile so I used a splash of red hot chile sauce. Try to use fresh tomato sauce if possible but you can use canned if you wish. I tried to double the recipe to save time but I wouldn't recommend it as there are too many vegetables to stir and you require a really big pot to do this. This came from the Fine Cooking magazine."

 

• Ready In: 1hr 10mins
• Ingredients: 19
• Serves: 6

ingredients

• 2 tablespoons peanut oil or 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
• 2 cups yellow onions, diced
• 2 tablespoons fresh ginger, minced
• 1 tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
• 1 medium eggplant, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (4 cups)
• 1 medium summer squash, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1 3/4 cups)
• 1 medium zucchini, cut into 1/2 inch cubes (1 1/4 cups)
• kosher salt
• 1 teaspoon garam masala
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1⁄2 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1 small red hot chili pepper, minced
• fresh ground black pepper
• 15 ounces chickpeas, with liquid
• 1 1⁄2 cups fresh tomato sauce
• 1 cup light coconut milk
• 1⁄4 cup plus 2 tbsp chopped fresh cilantro
• 1⁄4 cup unsweetened dried shredded coconut, lightly toasted (optional)

directions

1. Heat oil in a large, deep skillet over medium heat until shimmering.
2. Add the onion and cook, stirring frequently until soft and golden, about 15 minutes (reduce the heat to medium low, if necessary, to prevent the onion from burning).
3. Stir in the ginger and garlic; cook for 2 minutes.
4. Add eggplant, yellow squash, zucchini, and 1/2 tsp salt; stir to coat thoroughly.
5. Cook over medium heat, stirring occasionally, until the vegetables are barely tender, 7 - 10 minutes.
6. Stir in garam masala, coriander, cumin, turmeric, chile, tsp salt, and a few grinds of pepper.
7. Cook until the spices are fragrant, 1-2 minutes.
8. Pour in the chickpeas and their liquid, the tomato sauce, coconut milk and 2 tbsp of the cilantro.
9. Raise the heat to medium high and bring the stew to a boil.
10. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer, uncovered, until the eggplant and zucchini are completely tender but still hold their shape and the sauce has thickened, 15 - 20 minutes.
11. To serve - ladle the stew into shallow rimmed bowls and sprinkle with the remaining 1/4 cup cilantro and the toasted coconut (if using).

Reviews

[Dr. Jenny]

Made this summer stew last night and really enjoyed it! I could not find a hot red chile this time of year yet, so subbed a jalapeno. Also, I used regular coconut milk instead of light, because that is what I had on hand. I accidentally doubled the garam masala, but this worked out fine and I would use 2 tsp in the future. The ingredient list does not list cumin or coriander, yet the directions say to add them with the garam masala in Step 6, so I added 1 tsp of each. DH said he might like the taste of the spices to be even more pronounced next time, so we will probably do at least 2 tsp of the cumin and coriander and a little more turmeric. This had great flavor and was very filling. We served over basmati rice. I'm looking forward to leftovers tomorrow. Thanks!