Recipe: Baked Sweet Potato with Garam Masala Chickpeas 

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All right folks, it’s time to lighten the mood a bit around here. My last few posts have been very introspective and a little mushy.

Let’s get back to one of my favorite things. FOOD.

I am a lover of international food. Don’t get me wrong, I enjoy your traditional American fare, too, like French fries, mac and cheese and in my pre-vegetarian days, cheeseburgers and chicken wings. But there is something so savory about Indian spices that I just can’t pass up. And of course the staple in our household? Russian cuisine. There really isn’t anything I’ll pass up (except now being a vegetarian, this has shaken the house up a bit.)

So I’m sorry to disappoint you, but you won’t find many casserole recipes here.

Last night I was searching for some vegan recipes on Pinterest and found this tasty one from Nadia’s Healthy Kitchen: Baked Sweet Potato with Garam Masala Chickpeas.

Done deal. I love the flavor of Garam Masala, huge fan of sweet and savory, and I’m pretty much turning into a chickpea already in my new vegetarian lifestyle.

So here it is.

Ingredients:

  • 1 1/4 cups (249g) cooked chickpeas

  • 2 medium sweet potatoes

  • 1/2 tsp. turmeric

  • 1 tsp. cumin

  • 1 tsp. coriander

  • 2 tsp. garam masala

  • 1 tsp. curry powder

  • Juice of 1 lemon

  • 2 garlic cloves, minced

  • 1/2 medium onion

  • 1-inch piece of fresh ginger

  • Salt & pepper to taste

Instructions:

1. Preheat your oven to 200ºC/400ºF

2. Cut the sweet potatoes in half lengthways.

3. Prick the potatoes a few times with a fork and drizzle 1/2 tsp. of olive oil onto each half. Place inside up.

4. Bake for around 30 minutes or until they’re cooked all the way through. 

*Note: My potatoes were pretty thick and they took about 40 minutes to an hour.

5. In the meantime, heat about a tbsp. of coconut oil in a frying pan and add the chopped onion. Sauté for about 5 minutes and then add in the spices. Mix and cook for another minute (I added a little bit of water with the spices to turn them into a paste to make it easier to mix.)

6. Add in the ginger and garlic. Cook for a few seconds then add in the chickpeas along with the fresh lemon juice.

7. Mix until the chickpeas are evenly coated and warmed through.

8. Take the potatoes out of the oven, place on a serving plate and top with the chickpea mixture.

9. Add fresh chopped tomatoes and coriander to decorate. (I added parsley.)

I loved this dish. I thought it was simple and filling and it didn’t involve a lot of cleanup. I got my Indian fix without the takeout and minus a few calories.

Enjoy, friends!