Vegetable-Chickpea Curry Stew

I absolutely love curry. There is just something so comforting about the deep and warm flavors. My Vegetable-Chickpea Curry Stew is super simple and delicious. I serve this rich stew with fiber-packed whole wheat couscous and top it all off with chewy, sweet dried apricots, a sprinkling of crunchy almonds, and a squeeze of lime. All of the flavors and textures come together perfectly to create one of my all time favorite Indian-inspired dishes.

Ingredients:

1/2 tablespoon Extra Virgin Olive Oil
1 medium Yellow Squash, cut into 1/2" to 1" pieces, about 1 to 1 1/4 cups chopped
1 medium Yellow Onion, outer layer removed
2 medium Carrots, peeled

2 1/4 teaspoons Kosher Salt, divided

3 cloves Garlic, peeled and finely minced (approx. 1 tablespoon)

3" piece of Ginger, peeled with a veggie peeler and finely minced
2 14-ounce cans of Chickpeas (aka Garbonzo Beans)
1 teaspoon Ground Cumin
1 tablespoon plus 1 teaspoon Curry Powder
2 cups low-sodium Broth or Stock (either Chicken or Vegetable)
2 tablespoons Sliced Almonds
12 Dried Apricots, chopped into small pieces
1 Lime, quartered
2/3 cup dry Whole Wheat Couscous

Directions:

Prep yellow squash, onion, and carrots. Chop the onion and yellow squash into 1/2 to 1" pieces (comes to 1 to 1 1/4 cups of each). Using a vegetable peeler, make long ribbons of carrot as if peeling until only the top of the carrot is left (comes to about 1 cup of tightly packed ribbons). The bright orange ribbons will look pretty running through the stew, but you can also finely dice. Heat olive oil in a large skiller over medium heat. Add squash, onion, carrot and 1 teaspoon of salt. After 4 minutes (stirring occasionally) add garlic and ginger. After 5 minutes (stirring occasionally), add chickpeas, cumin, curry powder, stock, and an additional teaspoon of salt. Bring mixture to boil uncovered and continue boiling until reduced to 1/3 of the liquid is left, approximately 10 minutes after boiling starts.

While stew is cooking, prepare 2/3 cup coucous according to package, using the remaining 1/4 teaspoon salt and no butter (makes approximately 2 cups).

Serve stew in a bowl, topped with couscous, dried apricots, almonds, and lime wedges for squeezing on top.

Servings: 4; Calories per Serving: 460

Serving Size: 1 1/4 cups of stew, 1/2 cup couscous, 3 dried apricots (chopped), 1/2 tablespoon of sliced almonds, and 1/4 of the lime (juiced)