Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew makes a satisfying, comforting bowlful. With an Indian-inspired mix of aromatics, whole and ground spices, this incredibly tasty but easy dish is packed with vegetables and pulses. Eat just as it is, with a dollop of yogurt on top, or serve with rice or bread.

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I think the best way to describe the flavour in this easy, delicious stew is Indian-inspired. A mix of whole and ground spices, plus aromatics like garlic and ginger, come together to create an incredibly tasty dish packed with vegetables and chickpeas.

I love to eat it as a one-dish meal, often just with a dollop of yogurt on top. But you could serve Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew over rice or other grain, or with bread.

Either way, I think you’ll love the warmly spicy delights of this satisfying, comforting bowlful.

SPICY SWEET POTATO AND CHICKPEA STEW 

While the list of spices and aromatics in this recipe is quite lengthy, if you enjoy making Indian inspired dishes then you may already have most of them. And I really do think it’s worth building up a good spice collection that will allow you to create the wonderful complexity of flavours that’s possible with this cuisine.

The good news is that Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew is simple to make with not a lot of hands-on time.

You’ll find ingredient amounts and full instructions in the recipe card at the end. But I recommend you read the whole of this post for extra tips and step-by-step images.

Because the stew keeps well for several days or can be frozen, I make a big batch that contains 4 – 6 servings. However, the recipe can easily be halved, although the cooking time will remain the same.

INGREDIENTS

VEGETABLES

I estimate that, depending on serving size, each bowl contains between 2¼ and 3½ portions of vegetables. And that’s without the tinned chickpeas which are also allowable as 1 of your 5-a-day!

Despite the name, sweet potatoes are not in the same family as regular potatoes. Due to their slightly different nutritional profile, and because your blood sugar is less likely to spike after eating them, unlike regular potatoes sweet potatoes can be counted in your 5-a-day.

For a little variety, I’ve also included carrots in the stew, and there’s plenty of onion too. For contrasting flavour and bringing its own nutritional benefits, I add spinach. I always keep a bag in the freezer for convenience and no waste, but you could swap in fresh spinach, or even kale or chard, if preferred.

AROMATICS, WHOLE & GROUND SPICES 

To create this tasty stew, you can think of the flavourings and spices as being in three distinct groups.

• AROMATICS. These are the fresh flavourings: garlic, ginger, chilli, turmeric, and coriander leaf. You might be surprised to find turmeric in this category, but it’s wonderful if you can get it. Just like fresh ginger compared to powdered, turmeric root adds a certain brightness and is much less bitter. Also like ginger root, it keeps for months and months in the freezer. I get it as an add-on to my veg box, but you can now find it in some supermarkets as well as online. Don’t worry if you only have ground turmeric though: the stew will still taste good! Likewise, fresh chilli can be replaced with chilli flakes or powder.

• WHOLE SPICES. Including whole spices in your Indian-inspired dishes adds an extra dimension. In my Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew there’s mustard seed, cumin seed and one of my favourites, lightly aniseedy fennel seed.

• GROUND SPICES. You’ll need ground coriander, paprika (not the smoked kind), the distinctive spice blend known as garam masala, and ground cinnamon. Although I included fresh chilli in the aromatics, I like to add chilli flakes too. This allows me to easily dial up the heat at any point.

The remaining ingredients are oil (I use coconut oil, but you can swap in any other or ghee), salt and pepper, tomato puree, and stock. I think a little sugar balances the spices, but you can leave out if preferred.

EASY SPICY SWEET POTATO AND CHICKPEA STEW

After all that talk of ingredients, you’ll be pleased to know that making Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew is incredibly easy.

You start by softening and browning the onion, seasoned with a little salt and pepper, in the coconut oil. This should take around 10 minutes at medium heat. Then the garlic, ginger, and chilli go in, plus fresh turmeric if you have it, and are cooked for 2 more minutes. The cumin, mustard, and fennel seeds are added next and stirred around for a minute or so or until they fizzle and pop.

Now you add the sweet potato and carrots, cut into chunky dice, plus the chickpeas. Stir them around until they’re coated in the oil and flavourings. These are followed by all the ground spices plus a little more salt and pepper. After another minute add the tomato puree and sugar if you’re using it, plus the stock.

Give everything a good stir, then bring up to a simmer. With a lid on, the vegetables should take 15 – 20 minutes to get tender. If you’re using frozen spinach, add it partway through the cooking, allowing enough time as per the pack instructions. With fresh spinach, this can be stirred in when the other veg is done and the stew taken off the heat.

Have a taste and adjust the seasoning if you think it needs it. I’ll often add a little more salt, chilli flakes and garam masala. All that’s left to do then is stir in the chopped coriander and serve.

SERVING & STORING SPICY SWEET POTATO AND CHICKPEA STEW

Packed with vitamin and mineral rich vegetables plus pulses, Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew really is a meal in a bowl. And with a delicious, warmly spicy flavour, I think you’ll love the taste too.

Because a generous portion is quite filling, I don’t usually have anything like rice or bread with it. But a spoonful of creamy, thick yogurt is wonderful stirred through – and it adds protein to complete that in the chickpeas. If you do want bread, then I highly recommend my easy Turkish Pide Flatbread (Ramazan Pidesi).

Smaller portions are great the next day for lunch when the flavours will have melded together even more beautifully. Leftovers can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or can be frozen.

If you’ve made this lovely, easy spicy stew, let me know what you thought by leaving a comment and rating.

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Spicy Sweet Potato and Chickpea Stew

A satisfying, comforting bowlful packed with vegetables and pulses with an Indian-inspired mix of aromatics, whole and ground spices.

Eat just as it is, with a dollop of yogurt on top, or serve with rice or bread.

As the stew keeps well for several days, it's worth making a big batch, although the ingredients can easily be halved if required (cooking time will be the same).

It's recommended you read the accompanying blog post before beginning the recipe.

Course Main Course, Lunch

Cuisine Vegetarian, Vegan, Indian inspired, plant-based

Keyword pulses, easy, spicy

Prep Time 25 minutes

Cook Time 35 minutes

Total Time 1 hour

Servings 4 - 6

Author Moorlands Eater

Ingredients

• 2 tbsp coconut oil (can be replaced with other oil or ghee)
• 2 - 3 large - med onions (roughly chopped)
• salt and black pepper (to taste)
• 6 - 8 large - med cloves garlic (finely chopped or thinly sliced)
• 2 rounded tsp ginger (finely chopped or grated)
• 1 - 2 red or green chillis (finely chopped or sliced, seeds left in or removed. Can be replaced with chilli flakes or powder to taste)
• 1 rounded tsp fresh turmeric, grated (can be replaced with 1 level tsp turmeric powder, added later with the ground spices)
• 2 rounded tsp cumin seeds
• 2 rounded tsp fennel seeds
• 2 rounded tsp mustard seeds
• 500 g sweet potatoes, peeled and cut into chunky dice (weight after preparation)
• 200 g carrots, peeled or not, cut into chunky dice (weight after preparation: can be replaced with more sweet potato)
• 480 g cooked chickpeas (approximately 2 standard tins after draining)
• 2 rounded tsp garam masala
• 1 heaped tsp ground coriander
• 1 heaped tsp paprika
• 1 level tsp cinnamon
• hot or mild chilli flakes or powder (to taste)
• 2 rounded tbsp tomato puree
• 2 tsp brown sugar (optional)
• 1000 ml stock
• 200 g spinach (fresh or frozen)
• 1 small bunch coriander (roughly chopped)

Instructions

1. In a large saucepan, heat the coconut oil over medium heat.

   Add the onion, season with a little salt and pepper, and cook, stirring often, until it's starting to soften & brown (10-12 min).

   Stir in the garlic, ginger, chilli (plus fresh turmeric if using) and cook for 2 min more.

   Add the cumin, mustard, and fennel seeds and cook for a minute or until they fizzle and pop.

2. Stir in the prepared sweet potato, carrots, and chickpeas until they're coated in the oil and aromatics.

3. Stir in all the ground spices, chilli flakes or powder, plus a little more salt and pepper, and cook for another minute.

4. Add the tomato puree, the sugar if using, and the stock.

   Stir well, then bring up to a simmer.

   With a lid on, simmer until the vegetables are tender: if using frozen spinach add it partway through the cooking, allowing enough time as per the pack instructions.

5. If using fresh spinach, stir into the stew then take off the heat.

6. Taste the stew and add more seasoning, chilli flakes, or garam masala if needed.

   Stir in the chopped coriander and serve.

7. Stew can be stored in the fridge for 3 days or frozen.

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