By Natalie Meriwether
MCHD WIC
Our long summer days are quickly becoming shorter, our evenings a little cooler and, for most families, school has started back up again. Fortunately, along with colder and shorter days comes the beauty of fall. It’s time to start getting excited about the colorful fall foliage, family movie nights and the comforting foods that keep us warm and cozy.
Some fall favorites include soups and ciders, but in the WIC Kitchen, we are warming up with a plate of steaming yellow curry. Our favorite simple curry is made with chickpeas, any milk of choice, curry powder, cumin, red pepper and zucchini, or any other vegetables you might like, over rice.
One of the reasons we love this dish is because nearly all the ingredients are nutritionally beneficial, even the curry powder itself. Specifically, the main ingredient, turmeric, has several health benefits. Turmeric is a natural anti-inflammatory, which can help reduce the risk of chronic illnesses such as heart disease, arthritis and inflammatory bowel disease. And it may even delay the onset of Alzheimer’s.
Other health benefits of turmeric may include improved skin health and ridding the body of free radicals. It’s even been used as an anti-aging supplement.
Although it is technically classified as a fruit, zucchini is a vegetable we use often in the WIC Kitchen. We love them because they are so versatile and can be used in nearly any main dish or simply sautéed and eaten as a side on its own. Zucchini is full of vitamin A, which is proven to be important in maintaining vision. It is also rich in vitamin K and antioxidants that are important for bone health.
And at WIC Kitchen, we love our chickpeas. There are many reasons we love cooking with chickpeas, but the main reason is that they are one of the only legumes that are a complete protein. For an individual food to be considered a complete protein, it must contain all nine essential amino acids that we require from food. They are also so easy to cook and require nearly no prep time.
Enjoy this comforting, easy chickpea curry for your next family dinner.
CHICKPEA CURRY AND RICE
- 32-ounce can chickpeas (drained)
- 2 tablespoons olive oil
- 2 chopped garlic cloves
- 2 tablespoon curry powder
- 1 teaspoon cumin
- 1 teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional)
- 1 or 1 1/2 cups milk of choice (heavy cream, whole, oat, etc.)
- 1 sliced zucchini or yellow squash
- 2 cups whole grain rice
Heat the oil in a medium skillet over medium-low heat.
Add garlic and stir for about 30 seconds.
Add zucchini or squash and stir until slightly soft (5-10 minutes).
Stir in the curry powder, cumin and cayenne pepper and cook for 30 seconds.
Pour in the milk and add the chickpeas. Bring to a boil, reduce the heat and simmer for 10 minutes.
Taste and adjust the seasoning, add salt and pepper as needed.
Cook rice according to box instructions.
