Curried Chickpeas

When writing the farmer’s market list, I forgot the two summer squash and two zucchini that cost a paltry 50 cents each. Tonight the summer squash (which looks just like a yellow zucchini) is slated to star in a curry dish, along with the rest of the green beans.

Curried Chickpeas

1 cup dried chickpeas
1 tbsp vegetable oil
1/2 medium onion, chopped
50g Patak’s medium curry paste
2 tomatoes, chopped
1/2 pound green beans, cut in bite-size pieces
2 summer squash, cut in bite-size pieces (I like to quarter them lengthwise, and then slice the lengths)

1. Soak the chickpeas overnight, or if you’re like me and forget, boil them for three minutes and then let sit for the afternoon.
2. Heat the oil and add the onion. Sauté for about five minutes, until the onion is soft. Add the curry paste and stir for a minute.
3. Add the tomatoes (I put them in a food chopper and whirl them up, since nobody in the family likes chunks of tomatoes). Let them cook down for a bit.  Add the green beans and cook them for two minutes.
4. Add the chickpeas and cook for two minutes, until they’re getting close to warmed through.
5. Add the summer squash and cook for another two minutes; we don’t like our squash too mushy, even in a curry.

Serve over a cup of brown rice, and a nice cold glass of Gewurztraminer on the side if you like.

This recipe serves four, and has 300 calories for the curry, and 200 for the brown rice. Weight Watchers points are 5 and 4 respectively. You’re getting two to three servings of vegetables, depending on the size of your squash, one serving of meat alternate, and two servings of whole grains.

A lot of the points here are in the curry paste, and half of me wants to apologize for using a prepared paste. Realistically, though, there are very few times in my life I’ve had the time and inclination to buy, toast, grind, and store my own Indian spices, so if you’re reading this, you probably don’t either. The Patak’s jar of paste has everything preserved in oil (hence the calories) and gives a great flavour every time. I particularly like it to use with cauliflower, zucchini, or potatoes as well, and it adds an easy way to get the health benefits of onions into your diet.  The jar costs $5.99, but often goes on sale for less, and lasts us for months in the fridge.  So, as a strategy for eating more veggies, I highly recommend it!