Low fat prawn curry

I always struggle to think of new things to cook and my small repertoire of dishes can get a little dull so I wanted to try something new. It's freezing cold outside at the moment so I thought a spicy curry would be a perfect new dish to try. I picked up some lovely fresh prawns to make this but you could use whatever you have in the freezer. Curries are a great way to use up leftover vegetables and this one can be frozen so you could make a huge batch and then get one out of the freezer when you're too busy to cook.

It's a very tasty recipe and is quick to make so it's perfect for a mid week Indian feast. It's really adaptable so if you're veggie you could add some cauliflower or butternut squash to this. For those on the Weight Watchers plan you could skip the rice and add even more zero point vegetables for a filling but low point meal. I also think this recipe is a great way to sneak vegetables into your diet if you're not too keen on them.

I work this out at roughly 220 calories per serving and the recipes serves 4. Adding 200g of brown rice will add another 215 calories.

You will need:

• 2 tbsp oil
• 400g king prawns
• 1 yellow pepper
• 4 large tomatoes
• 1 large onion, chopped
• large piece ginger, crushed
• 4 garlic cloves, crushed
• ½ red chilli, finely chopped
• Pinch or two of sugar
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tbsp garam masala (I didn't have any so put some curry powder in which had a similar blend)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground coriander
• 400g can chopped tomatoes
• small bunch coriander, chopped. I only had dried so used that.
• brown rice to serve
  
  
  

  Method
  

  Heat the oil in a deep pan and cook the onion until it starts to turn golden and translucent. Add the ginger, garlic and chilli and cook for 1-2 mins. Stir in the sugar and spices for 1 min, then add the tinned and fresh tomatoes and the peppers. Season with sea salt and simmer for 5 mins, stirring, until the sauce thickens. Stir in the prawns, reduce the heat and cook for 8-10 mins until cooked through. Remove from the heat, stir though most the coriander.
  
  Serve with rice or naan. Yum!
  

Chickpea and spinach curry recipe

My normal lunch of salad or sandwiches just doesn't cut it in the cold winter months and having soup every day gets dull despite the endless flavour combinations. I've been batch cooking on Sunday's so I have varied, hot lunches to take work in the week and this curry is one of my favourites.

This recipe serves 3-4 depending on how much rice or naan bread you serve with it. 

You will need:

1 tin (420g) of cooked chick peas, drained and rinsed

2 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
1 tin (420g) of chopped tomatoes
4-5 handfuls of fresh spinach (I used waaay more because I love spinach)
1 large onion, finely sliced
Oil for frying

For the curry paste:

1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander

1 tsp tumeric
1 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp ground black pepper
1 red chilli, finely sliced (I used the frozen cubes of chilli)
Juice of 1/2 lemon (I used lime because it was all I had)
2 tbsps oil
1/2 tsp sea salt 

Making curry paste is pretty easy but if you don't have all of those ingredients it tastes just as good without one or two and you can always just buy some curry paste. 

Method

1. Make you curry paste by mixing all the ingredients in a bowl and smooshing them together. Ideally you would do this with a pestle & mortar but I don't have one.
2. Fry your onions in a little oil in a large pan until golden. Add the garlic and fry for a minute or two.
3. Add the curry paste to the onions and fry over a gentle heat for about 2-3 minutes before adding the chickpeas and tomatoes to the pan.
4. Cover and cook over a medium heat for 15 minutes, stirring regularly. Add more water or stock if it gets a bit dry. I add a lot of water because I like my chickpeas to be soft.
5. Add the spinach to the pan and cook for a further 2 minutes.

Without rice this curry is around 200 calories and contains 2 of your 5 a day. You can add some yogurt to serve or some coconut cream to make it a bit more saucy. Enjoy!