Newton Faulkner ~ Feels Like Home
Mr.Buble ~ Quando, Quando, Quando
Abba ~ Does Your Mother Know
The Gossip ~ Coal to Diamonds
Van Morrison ~ Brown Eyed Girl
Martina McBride ~ Still Holding On To You
Natalie Imbruglia ~ Glorious
Foo Fighters ~ Stacked Actors
American Dog ~ Give the Dog a Bone
I have a huge bowl of parsnips to use up. I found this recipe on VegBoxRecipes.com and knew instantly I wanted to try it out. I love parsnips..I love chickpeas..I love curry..what is there not to love with this recipe? So this morning I set out everything for the recipe and then took my time making this curry. As I had so many parsnips to use up I made a quadruple batch. A batch for us for dinner tomorrow ( I believe in the 'curry is better the day after' theory), a batch for my sister and two for the freezer.
It was a real pleasure to make from the very start. Prepping the veggies was relaxing then the toasting of the spices and the heady scent as they changed colour and started to pop. Then the aroma as I ground them down in my pestle and mortar. It was a very therapeutic experience for me. Then as the ingredients started to go into the curry pan I was struck by how disappointed I was by the appearance. It was exactly what the recipe said it would be except the colour seemed all wrong, to me. It looked very much like a Bean Stew I make and that felt all wrong for a curry. As it bubbled away on the stove top and I chopped up fresh coriander to go in the pot I realised I was feeling cheated. I had expected a 'normal' curry greenish brown colour. So I stirred in the coriander, turned off the heat and left it to go and eat my lunch.
When I went back to the curry pan, to give it one final stir, I was surprised that it had darkened in colour. And once again I was hit by a fantastic aroma. So I 'got a grip' and tried a spoonful. It tasted as good as it smelt! I will be making this again...and again...and again! lol.
Parsnip and Chickpea Curry
(Recipe posted on VegBoxRecipes.com)
2 medium parsnips
1 medium onion, peeled, halved and sliced
200g chickpeas, cooked
4 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
1/2 inch fresh ginger, peeled and grated
1 fresh chilli, deseeded and chopped
1/2 tsp cumin seeds
1/2 tsp coriander seeds
12 tsp fenugreek seeds
1 tin tomatoes, chopped
Handful of fresh coriander leaves
Heat a large pan with no oil. Add the cumin, coriander and fenugreek seeds and cook for about 2 minutes, until they start to pop and jump. Remove from the heat and crush in a pestle and mortar or grinder.
Heat some oil in the pan and gently saute the onion, garlic, ginger and chilli until soft. Approx 10 minutes.
Add the ground seeds and cook for a further 2 minutes.
Scrub or peel and chop the parsnip into cubes. Add to the pan and stir well to coat. Cover and cook for 5 minutes.
Add the tomatoes and chickpeas, stir well. Cover and simmer gently for 20 minutes, until the parsnip is tender.
Remove from the heat and stir in the coriander leaves.
Serve with brown rice.
