better than brick lane

I got this recipe from my new favourite blog, Ripe London. I adapted it a little - cut out the oil it originally called for, etc - and the curries I normally make are along these lines anyway, but I always enjoy trying something new. It makes a world of difference making it "from scratch" rather than shoving frozen spinach and a can of chickpeas together, like I normally do when getting home at 7pm!

Pre Pub-Crawl Curry

1/2 organic Jerusalem artichoke, peeled and cubed**
1 large organic sweet potato, peeled and cubed
1 onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, smashed and chopped
Thumb-sized piece of root ginger, grated
Cooking spray
1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon garam masala
2 cups cooked or canned chickpeas, drained
1 cup vegetable stock (I use Marigold)
2 tablespoons vegetarian curry paste
1 can reduced-fat coconut milk
Handful chopped coriander
the juice of half a lemon

**NB: I couldn't find this in my local ASDA, so I used half a large swede instead, still very good.

Add the artichokes (or swede) to a heavy-bottomed pan of salted, boiling water. After five minutes, add the sweet potatoes. Boil until both vegetables are just tender (about five minutes). Drain and flush with cold water to stop cooking.

Coat a large heavy-bottomed pan with cooking spray, add the onion, garlic, ginger and dry spices and fry gently for 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas, stir well and pour in the stock. Bring to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes.

Heat the remaining oil in a saute pan. Add the curry paste and fry gently for 3 minutes. Add the artichoke and sweet potato and stir-fry another 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk and the vegetables to the chickpeas and return to the boil. Cover and simmer for 10 minutes. Stir in the coriander and lemon juice. Taste and adjust the seasonings. Serve with steamed basmati rice.

PS: We just bought a rice cooker and it made the best rice ever to go with this curry! Rice cookers are fabulous, go and get one if you haven't already got one, you'll never go back!