RECIPES
Goan Spinach and Chickpea Curry with Pistachio Milk & Salted Lemony Labneh
By Chloe Lucas-Walsh
INGREDIENTS
1 white onion, diced
2 tbsp of ghee, butter, or coconut oil
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 inch of ginger, peeled & micro-planed
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of coriander powder
½ cup of water
1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 medium sized waxy potatoes, peeled then diced into 1 inch pieces
2 handfuls of washed spinach
2 cups of Táche Pistachio Milk
1 cups of vegetable stock
2 tbsp of ground coconut
1 tbsp salt, plus more to serve
1 tbsp black pepper, plus more to serve
Labneh
¼ preserved lemon, finely chopped
2 tbsp of ghee, butter, or coconut oil
5 cloves of garlic, thinly sliced
1 inch of ginger, peeled & micro-planed
1 tsp of red pepper flakes
1 tbsp of cumin powder
1 tbsp of turmeric powder
1 tbsp of coriander powder
½ cup of water
1 can of chickpeas (garbanzo beans), drained and rinsed
2 medium sized waxy potatoes, peeled then diced into 1 inch pieces
2 handfuls of washed spinach
2 cups of Táche Pistachio Milk
1 cups of vegetable stock
2 tbsp of ground coconut
1 tbsp salt, plus more to serve
1 tbsp black pepper, plus more to serve
Labneh
¼ preserved lemon, finely chopped
How to make the Goan spinach & chickpea curry:
- Begin by heating 2 tbsp of ghee / butter / coconut oil in a heavy bottomed pan with a lid (I like to use a dutch oven for this) over medium heat. Add the onions and garlic and sauté gently, season with salt and pepper to taste.
- Once the onions and garlic are softened, stir in the red pepper flakes, cumin powder, coriander powder, turmeric powder, and let all the spices bloom (become fragrant) in the oil. Keep an eye on the spices, as you do not want these to burn— but just sizzle a little. Next add in the ginger to become fragrant, too.
- Next add in 1/2 of the cup of water to the spice, onion, garlic, and chickpea mixture. This will just ensure that nothing burns, because if the spices burn, they can become bitter.
- Next add in the peeled and diced potatoes, and stir to make sure that all the spices coat the potatoes well. You can now add in the Táche, ground coconut, and 2 cups of vegetable stock. Put the lid on and let this gently simmer for 25 minutes or until the potatoes are cooked and almost falling apart.
- Once the potatoes are falling apart a little, you can take a fork or even better a potato masher and gently crush the potatoes as well as some chickpeas, a little more. This will help thicken the curry. Be sure not to mash everything completely, it's best to leave some of the potatoes and chickpeas whole.
- Next add in the spinach and let it wilt into the curry for a few minutes.
How to make the salted lemony labneh:
- Whilst the spinach is wilting, mix the diced preserved lemon into the labneh and stir to combine. The preserved lemon is salted already so no need to add more salt here.
- Serve the curry in your favorite bowl with a generous dollop of the salted lemony labneh. This can be enjoyed on its own, scooped up with some lovely naan bread or served over some buttery rice.
A Note From the Chef
Growing up in the UK, a lot of of our food is deeply influenced by Indian cuisine, as we have a such rich Indian cultural heritage. We are so lucky to have access to so many incredible, traditional, multigenerational Indian restaurants in the UK today. When living in London, my friends and I would frequent Brick Lane most weeks to enjoy the array of wonderful Indian foods and restaurants available.
My take on the gorgeous Goan vegetable curry uses Táche pistachio milk, in place of coconut milk, which still gives the curry that unctuous, creamy richness. Blooming the spices in the oil before adding any other ingredients helps to release their flavor. Blooming is a technique where you take one or more spices and heat them up in oil to release and amplify the flavor of the spice.
This dish is so comforting and has flavor profiles from many different cultures, but mainly lends itself to a South Indian Goan fish curry, of which I have enjoyed many times over. You could certainly add in fish if you wanted to. But I wanted to make this vegetarian for everyone to enjoy. I used spinach as my chosen vegetable but cauliflower, zucchini, or any leafy green like kale or collard greens would work here.
The richness of this curry is complimented so well by a swirl of tangy, salty labneh. You could salt the labneh with some sea salt and it would still have that beautiful, salty punch needed. However— adding the preserved lemon as the salty element really adds an uncompromising depth of flavor. You can find preserved lemon in most stores these days but if not, you can make them really easily at home. There are lots of recipes online.
I hope that you enjoy!
About Chloe Lucas-Walsh
Chloe lives in Los Angeles with her husband and 3 cats. She is a freelance recipe developer, food stylist, writer, art director and creative. She loves to constantly cook, eat, travel, write, and learn about other cultures. She's a natural wine fanatic, enjoys drinking very dirty vodka martinis, lives for long leisurely brunches with friends, and hosts weekly dinner parties out of her home. See was Chloe is cooking up next @chloecooks___
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