Quick Chickpea Curry

I really hate closing shifts.  I miss spending two hours preparing dinner.  Also, traffic is starting to resemble pre-pandemic levels.  My dinner habits are starting to resemble those of most people, who don't want to spend more than half an hour preparing a meal after a long day at work.

This actually took less than half an hour.  A cup of jasmine rice cooks in about 20-25 minutes, including bringing it to a simmer.  The curry was done first, including any chopping.  Ok, I did make the chickpeas from dry, but I did that part the day before, so the timing is the same as opening a can.

I even cheated on the vegetables and microwaved some steam-in-bag Brussels sprouts.  I was trying to find out if you could get the same satisfaction of a meal well made using conveniences.  In this case, you really couldn't taste the difference between hours of same-day prep and throwing everything together, except I probably would have oven-roasted the sprouts if I had bought fresh.

1 C dry jasmine or other white, long-grain rice
2 Tb olive or coconut oil
1/2 tsp each paprika, cumin, turmeric, and kosher salt
1-1/2 tsp curry powder
*2 Tb tomato paste
*1 C diced onion
2 cloves garlic, minced
*1 tsp grated ginger
1 can light coconut milk (full-fat optional)
1 15 oz can chickpeas (or 2/3C dry, pre-cooked)
*1/4 C chopped cilantro leaves
*1/4 C chopped flat-leaf parsley
1 12oz bag frozen petite Brussels sprouts or other favorite veggie
1 Tb lemon juice

1.  For the rice, stir together dry rice and 2 C water in a medium saucepan.  Bring to a low boil over medium heat.  Lower heat to a simmer, cover, and allow to steam while you cook the curry.

2.  In a medium skillet over medium-high heat, warm the oil.  Stir in spices and tomato paste and cook until fragrant and a paste, about 3 minutes.  Add diced onion and cook until it starts to soften, about 5 minutes, stirring frequently.  Add garlic and ginger and cook one minute.

3.  Drain and rinse chickpeas.  Add coconut milk, chickpeas, cilantro, and parsley to the skillet and stir to combine.  While it's coming back up to a low boil, microwave the vegetables according to package directions.  Add to skillet and stir everything until evenly coated.  Finish with lemon juice.

4.  Hopefully, the rice is done by this time.  Serve hot, with a parsley garnish if you feel like it.

Difficulty rating  π