Curried Chickpea Hash

The other day I rehydrated chickpeas thinking I would make a larger batch of something curry related- it is Ramadan after all (no, I am not Muslim nor do I practice Islam- I just like an excuse to make different culturally unique foods, and holidays). Alas, I did not get around to it. Today, while I sat at my regular, real-job desk and thought of things to help me procrastinate from doing real work, I thought about what to make for dinner. I remembered the chickpeas, sitting in water in my fridge. I remembered a big hunk of ginger root and my (I know it's cheating) incredibly convenient jar of crushed garlic. I thought of these really cute onions I picked up from a local farmer (through a great store-front, Green Grocer Chicago) and the sweet pepper that was ripening (on one of my very own garden peppers plant!) as I continued to think. What else can I add? What can I do with all this?

Hash.

Yeah, yeah, I know what you're thinking...well, either two things where one involves hog, which given I don't eat that this does not relate, and the other- well, lets just say it's unfortunate that's not legal in this country. What I am talking about is the general idea of foods called hash- a bunch of stuff, usually chopped or shredded, fried in a light oil to browning.

That's exactly what I did. And the recipe follows. Also, I was feeling a little like a cold might be coming on, so I used a lot of ginger and garlic- probably more than I normally would in a dish like this. I also choose to use the Hot Curry Powder vs normal curry, since spicy foods help cleanse as well as ginger and garlic.

With all of that heat and flavor, I wanted something to go along with it to temper it. I made a goat cheese sandwich with fresh from the garden chives, dill and cucumber slices (about 130 calories). It really was a lovely pairing. Thought next time and if calories that day are not an issue for me, I think I'll try it on Na'an or Tandoori bread to go with the rich ginger and curry flavors of the hash.

This hash turned out pretty ok. Something else I might try different is a way to make it stick together more for the browning to work well. See below for complete nutritional info, again brought to us by the resourceful SparkPeople Recipe Calculator. With the sandwich and hash, I had yet another completely filling, satisfying less than 300 calorie dinner! (Sorry the pictures aren't the best. When I make this again, I'll update with prettier images)

Curried Ginger Chickpea Hash Ingredients
Broccoli, fresh, 1 C chopped
Chickpeas (garbanzo beans), 1/3 C pre-soaked
Onions, raw, .25 cup, sliced (1 really small, like a shallot)
Carrots, raw, 0.25 cup, grated in strips (1 small carrot)
Celery, 1/4 C chopped (1 stalk of celery)
Curry (hot or not, up to you) powder, 1 tsp
Garlic, 2 tsp
Ginger Root, 3 tsp

Get Cookin'

1. Boil beans with water, 1/2 ginger, 1/2 garlic and frozen broccoli for about 10-15 minutes, until beans are softer and broccoli is soft as well. 
2. Reserve some of the stock in a small skillet. Drain the rest. Coarsely process the chickpea/broccoli mixture and set aside.
3. While the beans are cooking, prepare the onions and carrots to be slices or shredded and the celery chopped small. Add the vegetables to the water in the skillet, heat and stir to soften the veggies and add the remaining ginger and garlic at this time as well.
4. Drain and remove from pan. Wipe the pan clean, spray with olive oil and heat. Mix both mixtures together and put in the pan making one flat layer covering the whole pan. Fry for a few minutes to brown that side. Then stir and fry more to brown more. 
5. Serve with a tasty sandwich or eggs for a complete meal. 

Nutritional Info
Servings Per Recipe: 1
Amount Per Serving
Calories: 170.7
Total Fat: 1.7 g
Cholesterol: 0.0 mg
Sodium: 311.8 mg
Total Carbs: 34.0 g
Dietary Fiber: 9.1 g
Protein: 8.2 g