Spinach and Potato Curry

Serves: 8

Prep: 20 minutes

Cook: 40 minutes

Ingredients

Spice mix

• 1 tablespoon garam masala
• 2 teaspoons ground cumin
• 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper

Curry

• 1 kg potatoes, peeled and cut into 4 cm chunks
• 2 × 250 g packets frozen spinach, thawed
• 1 brown onion, diced
• 3 cloves garlic, crushed
• 1 teaspoon finely grated fresh ginger
• 2 tablespoons vegetable or olive oil
• 400 g tin diced or crushed tomatoes
• 400 ml tin coconut milk
• 1 cup (250 ml) vegetable stock
• 400 g tin chickpeas, rinsed and drained
• ¾ cup (90 g) frozen peas
• 1–2 teaspoons caster sugar
• juice of ½ lemon

To serve

• steamed basmati rice
• pappadams

Method

Prep

1. For the spice mix, combine the garam masala, cumin, turmeric, coriander, salt and cayenne pepper together in a small bowl.
2. Start bringing a large pot of salted water to the boil over high heat.
3. Peel the potatoes, cut them into 4cm chunks and put them straight into the pot of water.
4. Put the spinach in a sieve, run warm water over it until it thaws, press as much liquid out as possible then set aside.
5. Dice the onion, crush the garlic and grate the ginger.

Cook

1. Parboil the potatoes for about 10 minutes or until just tender, then drain in a colander and set aside. If you’re serving with rice, start cooking it now.
2. Meanwhile, heat oil in a large frying pan over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for 4–5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add the garlic and ginger and cook for another minute or so.
3. Add the spice mix to the pan and cook, stirring, for 1 minute. Add the drained potatoes. Turn the heat up to medium-high and stir to coat the potatoes in the spices for a couple of minutes.
4. Add the diced tomatoes, coconut milk and vegetable stock. Bring to a simmer then turn the heat down to medium-low and cook, uncovered, for 10 minutes. Stir through the chickpeas, spinach and frozen peas with 1 teaspoon sugar and the lemon juice.
5. Taste and add a little more sugar and/or salt if necessary.
6. Divide among bowls with the steamed rice, and serve with pappadams.

Notes

• Leftovers: Store this in the fridge for 4 days or the freezer for 2–3 months. Reheat in the microwave or stovetop.
• Substitutions: Use baby spinach, kale or silverbeet in place of the frozen spinach. A tin of brown lentils could be added in place of the chickpeas.