Budget friendly food: Chickpea Bhuna

So very recently my baby Brother Rashid, flew the nest and headed off to University. I couldn't help but do the big Sister thing and try and pass on the tips and tricks I learnt through my time at uni especially about food shopping and budgeting....hopefully he picked up some of the tips. Inspired by my Brother and always endeavouring to get the most out of my food budget, I thought I would share with you over the coming weeks, some of my favourite budget friendly recipes which are healthy, filling, only cost a few pounds to make and will provide enough to share with friends or eat as leftovers the next day. 

One of my all time favourite comfort food dishes which my Mum makes, is this amazing Chickpea Bhuna dish. It's a healthy, budget friendly and filling dish which you can easily make even more substantial by turning it into a curry and it's also vegetarian and vegan friendly. 

Ingredients 

1 tbsp oil

½ onion sliced

1 inch piece root ginger chopped

¼ tsp turmeric  

1 tsp  mixed curry powder (cumin, coriander, paprika, turmeric, chilli, powder)

1 fresh tomato or 2-3 cherry tomatoes chopped 

1 x 400g/14oz can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

Small handful of fresh coriander chopped

2 small green chillies (optional)

Method

Heat the oil in a pan and add the onions and ginger with a pinch of the salt. Once the onions have browned, add in the chopped tomatoes and stir.

Add in the spices and cook a little.

Add the chickpeas to the pan and stir to combine with the spices. Add the whole chilies for flavour  if using and cook for a few minutes.

Scatter the chopped coriander over the chickpeas and stir to combine and then remove from heat.

This really is such an easy dish to make and it can be on the table from the kitchen within 20 minutes including prep time.

The Chickpea Bhuna goes really well with rice, chapati and naan bread. You can make a delicious wrap with the chickpeas in a chapati with some tamarind sauce, minty yoghurt sauce or Asian pickle.

To turn this dish into a curry, follow the recipe above but use a whole onion, finely chopped added with a chopped potato, 2 teaspoons of curry powder and add 200ml of water after the chickpeas have been added. 

I'd love to hear how you get on with this recipe and would love to see your Instagram pictures or Tweets.

Jx