Vegetable Curry with Chickpeas
Curry is a very popular mixture of many different herbs. It is used to improve the taste of different dishes, but many people are unaware that this spice comes with many health benefits. For instance, it helps prevents cancer and reduce the risk of strokes and heart attacks, eases the symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease, improves bone health, soothes pain and inflammation and strengthens immunity. The main ingredient found in curry is turmeric and some other ingredients found in it are cumin, coriander, cardamom and pepper. We will now focus on the two healthiest ingredients found in our chickpea vegetable curry – cumin and turmeric.
The Benefits of Turmeric in our Vegetable Curry
The active ingredient of turmeric is curcumin. Turmeric has been used for more than two millennia in India. Thanks to its healing properties, this spice became popular all over the world. Studies now confirm the many health benefit of turmeric. For starters, turmeric is a natural antibiotic and antiseptic used for disinfection in cases of burns, cuts and bruises. It also has the ability to speed up the healing of wounds. There are several studies that have confirmed that turmeric has the ability to stop the growth of breast cancer when combined with other foods.
Turmeric is praised as a powerful anti-inflammatory. Studies have shown it contains more than twenty types of anti-inflammatory substances. Its active ingredients reduce the levels of specific enzymes naturally found in the body that support inflammation caused by arthritis and osteoporosis. Many doctors recommend turmeric for Crohn’s disease, irritable bowel syndrome, arthritis, tendonitis and athletic injuries.
There are only a small number of people who know that turmeric can reduce the chances of developing type 2 diabetes. The compounds found in turmeric have the ability to stabilize blood sugar levels.
Furthermore, turmeric is a strong antioxidant. As you probably know, antioxidants are compounds that can eliminate free radicals, which are associated with cancer. Not only that, but it can prevent and eliminate some of the damage that these compounds have already caused. People with joint diseases and arthritis will benefit the most from this property of turmeric.
Finally, which is of most interest to me, turmeric is a rare compound that supports not only detox phase 1 and 2 but also the intermediate phase, which in some cases is most dangerous detox phase. There are very few compounds if any that can boast this ability. If you want to support your liver and your detoxification pathways, then turmeric is your partner.
The Benefits of Cumin in our Vegetable Curry
If you are preparing chickpea vegetable curry you will also need ground cumin. This is another powerful spice that can help people boost their health. Cumin is another popular natural medicine used for many centuries.
It is used in treating digestive problems, but it is also good when it comes to dyspeptic issues in the stomach. Many experts advise the use of cumin as a replacement for table salt because it contains very low amount of sodium even though it provides similar taste. This spice is excellent for lowering hypertension.
Cumin can also help people who want to lose weight. It decreases body fat, supports weight loss and lowers the level of bad cholesterol while improving the levels of good cholesterol.
Cumin is important in cooking legumes because it makes them more digestible and helps prevent flatulence! I always have cumin seeds on hand and I grind them into powder when I need it for a recipe for the maximum flavor and effectiveness. There is nothing less inspiring than a flat powdered spice!
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Notes
Serve this supper-nutritious, super-tasty curry dish over rice with a green salad on the side. Inspired by Bastyr Cooking classes.
* Red peppers are members of the nightshade family, so if you suffer from things like inflammatory arthritis then omit this ingredient.
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons extra virgin olive oil or ghee
- 1 onion, chopped
- 1 clove of garlic, minced
- ½ teaspoon Celtic Sea Salt
- 1-2 teaspoons of ground coriander
- 1-2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon cinnamon
- Pinch of cayenne pepper
- 2 small potatoes, cut in chunks
- 1 carrot, sliced
- ½ red pepper, sliced*
- 1 cup of tomato sauce
- ½ cup of water
- 1 cup of broccoli flowerettes
- 1 cup of cooked chickpeas
- Chopped cilantro for garnish
Instructions
- Heat oil in a large pot. Add onion garlic, and salt, saute until onion is soft.
- Add coriander, cumin, turmeric, and cinnamon.
- Add potatoes, carrots, red pepper, tomato sauce and water, stir well.
- Bring to a boil, lower heat and simmer, covered, until potatoes and carrots are tender, about 20 minutes.
- Add broccoli and cooked chickpeas and stir in gently. Cover and simmer until broccoli is bright green and tender – a few minutes.
- Serve over rice and garnish with cilantro.
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