Vegan Turmeric Curry With Sticky Chia Brown Rice

This chia-fied vegan curry will be sure to warm you up! Thanks to Monika of Pepperazzi for this winter warmer!

It’s getting colder and colder outside, and naturally, we are all looking for comfort foods. Hot soups, heartwarming stews, spicy curries… The below curry is a quite mild one yet full of flavour. I have used seasonal autumnal vegetables and turmeric which is really aromatic and has great health benefits. However, feel free to experiment and use sweet potato, tomatoes or peppers. Options are endless. The rice has a lovely texture with added black chia seeds and it works just as good with the white seeds. The whole dish is dairy free and vegan-friendly. A fragrant meal full of vitamins so needed in winter. It will definitely warm your heart!

Visit Lyfe Botancials Turmeric Benefits to view the health benefits of Turmeric

This recipe serves four people…

Ingredients

Curry:

• 1 medium onion
• 1 clove garlic
• 1 tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 300g butternut squash, peeled and diced
• 1 tin of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 2 handfuls fresh baby spinach
• 1 tin coconut milk
• 2 tsp ground turmeric
• Sea salt & freshly ground black pepper to taste
• A few fresh coriander leaves to garnish

Rice:

• 2 cups whole grain brown rice
• 6 cups water
• Pinch of salt
• 1/2 cup vegetable stock
• 2 tbsp whole chia seeds (black or white)

Method

To make the curry:

1. In a large saucepan or wok, saute the onion and garlic for 3 minutes until golden brown.
2. Add the diced butternut squash and turmeric, and mix well to have the vegetables covered in the spice. Fry for another 2 minutes.
3. Add the coconut milk and simmer for 15 minutes until the squash is soft.
4. Add the chickpeas and baby spinach, and simmer for 5 minutes until the spinach is nice and soft.
5. Season with salt and pepper.

To make the rice:

6. Bring the water to the boil, add the rice and cook for 15 minutes until the rice is soft and the water has evaporated. Leave to cool.
7. In a medium saucepan, stir together the stock and chia seeds, and let stand for 20-30 minutes until you get a gel-like mixture.
8. Bring the mixture to the boil. Add the rice and mix well. Simmer for 5 minutes until the rice is hot and has a sticky consistency.
9. Garnish with some coriander leaves and serve.

Enjoy!