A hearty vegan stew.

Ingredients

• About 1 kg winter squash of your choice (butternut or kabocha recommended) or sweet potato. You can replace some of this with carrots if you want. Or you can use 500 gr each carrots and potatoes.
• 1 1/2 cups chickpeas or a combination of chickpeas and kidney beans (or 4 1/2 cooked, from a tin)
• 1/4 cup coconut oil (or any cooking oil)
• One large yellow or white onion.
• 5 cloves garlic or to taste.
• Fresh ginger, about the same quantity as garlic (or a teaspoon ginger powder).
• 3 tablespoons curry powder of your choice.
• Optional: hot pepper powder to taste and any other spices you desire. You can also add fresh chile peppers to taste.
• Optional: hot pepper paste to taste, about a tablespoon recommended.
• 3 bay leaves.
• About 400 gr tomato sauce or fresh tomatoes, chopped finely.
• About 400 gr coconut milk.
• Salt to taste.
• 1 tablespoon (or to taste) sugar or honey.
• About 1 cup water.

Method

1. Soak and cook the beans until they are still somewhat underdone.
2. Peel, seed, and chop the squash or sweet potatoes into generous bite sized chunks.
3. Chop onion, garlic, fresh ginger, and, if using, fresh hot peppers. Gently fry in oil, with a teaspoon of salt, until translucent and somewhat soft.
4. Add curry powder, bay leaves, hot pepper powder, and any other dry spices you’re using and cook for another minute.
5. Add about 1/4 cup of your tomato sauce and hot pepper paste if using. Cook for half a minute or so, then add 1/2 cup water. If using fresh tomatoes, add them all now and omit the water. Continue cooking until the onions are very soft, tomatoes have disintegrated, and most of the water has evaporated.
6. Add the rest of the tomato sauce and all of the coconut milk. If using sugar, add that now too. Add the squash or sweet potato. If using undercooked beans, add them now.
7. Simmer until everything is nice and soft. If you’e using fully cooked beans (eg, from a tin) add them in now and simmer for another couple of minutes. Add more salt to taste.
8. Serve on its own or with rice. You can garnish with chopped cilantro or chopped fresh chile peppers. You can also serve it with plain yogurt or any sort of raita or chutney you like.

Pictures

Numbers correspond to the steps above.

4 Add curry powder and bay leaves to softened onions

5 Add a little tomato sauce and (optionally) a bit of pepper paste once the dry spices have cooked for a minute or so

5 Cook until the onions are fully soft. If using chopped fresh tomatoes, cook until they fall apart.

6 Add the rest of the tomato sauce, the coconut milk, and 1/2 cup water

6 Add squash of sweet potatoes

6 Add underdone beans to finish cooking them

7 done