I spent this morning cooking for my friends who are new parents (and ones who are abut to be). I wanted to do a hearty main dish that could be frozen easily and that was tasty but not too spicy for a nursing mother. I decided on chickpeas over bulgar wheat.
As I was poking around my spice box, I found my fenugreek seeds and recalled the stunning fenugreek tomato pasta Ken made at camp. Fenugreek, tomato and chickpeas - perfect! This is hearty, healthy (it's vegan) and smells so good that I nearly portioned some out for myself.
Fenugreek Chickpea Curry
serves 2-3
1 can whole tomatoes
1 can chickpeas
1/2 onion
1 clove garlic
2 sundried tomatoes
1/2 tsp whole fenugreek seeds
pinch cumin seeds
salt to taste
olive oil
Mince the garlic and chop the onion, Saute in olive oil until the onion is becoming translucent. Add in the fenugreek and cumin and cook for a minute to release the spices' oils. Add in the tomatoes and liquid, crushing the tomatoes through your fingers as they go into the pot. Drain the chickpeas, rinse well, and add to pot. Chop the dried tomatoes into bits and stir into stew. Add a bit of water as needed. Simmer for 20 minutes or until chickpeas are a little bit soft and the flavors are fully developed.
I'm so looking forward to tasting this!
That would be nice with some chicken too I think. Either in addition to the recipe or substituting the chick peas.
Of course this makes it no longer vegan but good for us carnivores.
Ah - Fenugreek is great for new mothers, it stimulates lactation. I drank fenugreek tea when I was breastfeeding, and boy did that work.