Mulligatawny with Chickpeas

I came across the original recipe on Martha Stewart’s website and adapted it to be vegan. I subbed in yellow split peas for the yellow lentils, which taste great but do take a lot longer to cook – which was fine since the rice it is served over takes an hour to bake.

Beyond being so tasty, it is very filling and very high in fiber. A clean living dream dinner!

Mulligatawny with Chickpeas

Ingredients:

• 1 batch baked brown rice
• 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil
• 1 tsp roasted garlic (jarred)
• 2 tsp fresh ginger (jarred)
• 1 tsp ground cumin
• 1 tsp ground turmeric
• ½ tsp ground coriander
• ¼ tsp cayenne pepper
• 8 ounces (about 1 cup) yellow split peas, picked over and rinsed
• 6 cups lower sodium vegetable broth
• 2 Tbsp lemon juice

For Chickpea Topping –

• 15 ounce can garbanzo (chickpeas), rinsed and drained
• 2 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil

Directions:

For the rice –

Heat the oven to 375°. Bring 2½ cups water to a boil, add it, 1 Tbsp extra virgin olive oil and 1½ cups long grain brown rice to 2 quart or 8×8″ glass baking pan, cover with foil tightly and bake for 1 hour.

Makes about 4 cups baked.

The Sauce –

Heat the oil over medium heat in a large non-stick skillet, add the garlic, ginger, cumin, turmeric, coriander and cayenne pepper. Cook for about 30 seconds stirring often.

Add the broth and lentils, turn up to high and bring to a boil. Cover and turn to medium-low, let simmer for 40 minutes. Using a stick blender, process till smooth (I did this step a deep bowl to not splatter myself, then returned it to the pan). Heat back through and season to taste if needed with salt.

The pan-fried chickpeas –

Heat the oil in a large frying pan over medium high heat, add in the chickpeas and cook until golden and crispy (except about 10 minutes), shaking the pan often.

To serve –

Scoop rice into bowls, top with the sauce and sprinkle on the chickpeas.

Serves 4.

~Sarah