Veganuary: Butternut Squash, Chickpea and Spinach Curry

For the second year running, I'm taking part in Veganuary, where you pledge to live vegan for the whole month of January. After last year, I resorted back to a fully veggie diet, but this year I'm going to try and stick to a vegan diet beyond January. I'm using this month to try out lots of new recipes, and revisit some of my favourites, so I thought I'd share some of the best with you guys!

First up is a delicious, comforting curry that you won't miss having meat in. The textures of the chickpeas adds a feeling of meatiness and are a good source of protein too. I adapted this recipe from Eat Like a Girl's post, which alone is a very delicious curry. However, I added in a couple more spices to give it an extra depth of flavour. Also, I like to swap out the butternut squash for sweet potato sometimes, to change it up a bit. Make sure to chop up the spinach well, otherwise it can form quite large clumps once it's wilted. If you're not a big fan of spinach, you can leave it out completely.

Ingredients

• 1 medium butternut squash, or 2 medium sweet potatoes
• 1 onion
• 1 tbsp vegetable oil
• 3 garlic cloves
• 1 tbsp cumin
• 2 tsps ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1/2 tsp garam masala 
• 1/2 tsp ground ginger
• 1/2 tsp paprika
• pinch of salt and pepper
• 400g chopped tomatoes
• 400g coconut milk
• 400g chickpeas, drained
• 200g spinach, washed and chopped
• 1/2 fresh lemon

Method

1. Peel and chop the butternut squash into 2cm cubes. Dice the onion, and crush the garlic cloves.

2. In a large pan, fry the onion in the oil for 10-15 minutes on a medium heat, or until translucent and golden. Add the garlic cloves and spices and fry for a further 2-3 minutes. 

3. Add the butternut squash and stir well. Pour in the chopped tomatoes and coconut milk and cook for 15-20 minutes, or until the squash is soft. 
4. Add the chickpeas, spinach, and the salt and pepper. Stir well.

5. Finish with a squeeze of lemon juice and serve with some rice, naan, or poppadoms (or all three!).