I picked this recipe this week because it was simple and from a cuisine I don’t do very often. I have done a few African recipes, mostly North African. Digaag Quimbe is an East African recipe for coconut yogurt chicken. I found a recipe for this from Bon Appetit. While this is a chicken stew that has tomato, diary and meat, I can make a few slight changes to make tomato, dairy and meat free. I do think this will make a wonderful stew regardless this time of year. It’s getting colder and a warm stew will hit the spot. Another thing I noticed with making a recipe vegetarian is that 20g of protein is hard to hit every time. However, I do hit 15g every time. The protein level is still good, just not as good as animal protein.

Here are the original stats:

Here’s what I changed:

• I deleted the tomatoes and replaced with pumpkin puree.
• I replaced the yogurt with plain coconut milk yogurt.
• I replaced the chicken thighs with tempeh to make it vegetarian.
• I reduced the olive oil to 2 tablespoons to reduce the calories.
• I increased the amount of red bell pepper to increase the vitamin C.
• I added lentils for protein.

Here are the updated stats:

Here is the final recipe:

Digaag Quimbe

Serves 8

• 3 red bell peppers, seeds and membranes removed, coarsely chopped
• 2 jalapeños, seeds removed if you want less heat, coarsely chopped
• 2 tablespooons extra-virgin olive oil
• 2 onions, chopped
• 2 large garlic cloves, finely chopped
• 1 1″ piece fresh ginger, peeled, finely chopped (about 1 Tbsp.)
• 1 Tbsp. curry powder
• 1 Tbsp. ground cumin
• 1 tsp. ground turmeric
• ¼ tsp. ground cardamom
• 1 tsp. salt
• 1 cup coconut milk plain yogurt
• 1 Yukon Gold potato, peeled, cut into ¾” cubes
• 1 carrot, peeled, cut into ¼”-thick coins
• 2 7.5 ounce packages tempeh
• 3/4 cup brown lentils
• 1 14-oz. can light coconut milk
• 3 Tbsp. ghee 
• 1 cup cilantro, coarsely chopped, plus whole leaves for serving
• Steamed rice and/or spinach (for serving)