This VEGAN Spinach Chickpea Coconut Curry is a flavorful, nutritious, weeknight staple and adds a special decadence to your Sunday dinners.

I did not have the most traditional of upbringings – the paternal side of my family struggled with their Indo-Burmese identity after migrating from Burma to India after the war, meaning that most of the food we ate were a fusion of the two cultures. My mother learnt to cook only after she married, and even then largely hustled her own recipes based on produce that she could find and spices that were closest to her reach (she’s where I get my quirkiness from). Paraphrasing her most famous words: ‘….these were the ingredients that stared back at me when I went looking’. Needless to say, she is quite literally incapable of making the same thing twice. She creates and moves on.

Because most of the food was largely fashioned in a melting pot of intermingling cultures and hustled smarts, no one thought it worth their time to write anything down. Translate: I have no recipes that were handed down to me.

But even in our very unconventional family, Sundays were traditionally special. The Indian workforce is employed for 5 1/2 days every week, which meant Sundays were the only day that the four of us sat down together as a family to eat. Every other day, our meal times were in a constant state of flux based on each person’s school/work schedule, but on Sundays, we were all home and truly enjoyed the time we had together.

Which automatically meant that the best meals of the week were reserved for the Sunday lunch/dinner. In a family where everyone cooked, it was truly a day of togetherness, as we all pitched in to cook together in a kitchen that was too small for four people to stand in, and sat down to dine as one amidst the chaos that ensues from ‘too many cooks’. Although special, it wasn’t necessarily a very elegant affair. We just sat around on the couch, and all the dishes were piled unceremoniously on the coffee table in the greasy pans they were cooked in. No, it wasn’t a very pretty sight, but all I remember was the way it felt, and nothing could ever be more perfect that those crude meals I ate with the people I loved the most in this world.

Now, almost 5 years later in a home of my own several thousand miles away, I am desperately trying to reinstate Sunday night dinners here. There is a certain magic that is evoked when people gather around a table of food, an alchemy that electrifies the very air around you, seasons the food and makes everything it touches a little more than it probably is.

And while I am tempted to add a little elegance to our dinner table, I know in the heart of my heart that I’ll never be fancy enough to serve each food in it’s own special dish at a family dinner for two. If I have a sink full of dirty dishes to look forward to at the end of the night, I might loose interest in Sunday dinners myself. Thankfully, Lagostina makes cookware that are not just functional, but beautiful enough to go straight from the stove to the table and still uphold the overall elegance of the meal.

Featured here are some pieces from the Lagostina Opera Stainless Steel Collection and it’s undoubtedly the most beautiful of all the cookware sets I’ve owned. The aluminium core makes for better heat distribution while the stunning stainless steel exterior adds class and a very safe cooking medium. Handles (and pot lid holds) that don’t heat up is always a welcome addition because when you’re rushing to move pans and forget to wear your mitts, ouch!

I’ve been using these pans in my kitchen for a while now, but they show no signs of use so far, and in my kitchen, the cookware get abused to no end. They’re stacked, tossed, dragged, dropped (butter fingers!) and scorched. Yet, at the end of the night, these get washed clean with almost minimal scrubbing and return to their original sheen as though magically fixed by a fairy godmother. I am not a very vain person, but I am getting a kick out of fixing my hair on the mirror-finish lids as I cook – I assume it’s what gorgeous Italian cooks do in Italy where this cookware is made, and when in Rome, you must be Roman, no?

And if you’re wondering, yes, the pans are all spill-proof – there’s a lip running around the pan that makes pouring mess-free – this is one of the features I specifically look for when I buy cookware. Sloshing curry all over doesn’t really make for a fun post-dinner activity.

Speaking of curry, here’s a recipe that makes an appearance on many a Sunday dinner at my home – Spinach Chickpea Coconut Curry. Not only is there minimal chopping/prep, the absolutely decadent curry pairs well with both flatbreads as well as rice/pilaf, making it quite a versatile recipe to keep in your Indian food arsenal. And if you prefer it, substitute the canned coconut milk with cream instead for a dairy-rich version.

Let’s bring back the enchantment of Sunday dinners in our homes – it matters not how beautifully you set the table or how delicious the food is, as long as the hearts that gather around feel the love you share, everything will still be absolutely magical – and is that not the whole point?

[GIVEAWAY] I’d love for you to try this beautiful piece of cookware! Enter for a chance to win a Lagostina Opera Stainless Steel Casserole with Lid(above):

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#AD This post was sponsored by Lagostina USA but all opinions expressed are my own. I only recommend products that I truly love and thank you for supporting brands that support Love is in my tummy.

When you make this delicious VEGAN Spinach Chickpea Coconut Curry (which I really think you SHOULD!), be sure to SHARE YOUR PHOTOS with me through Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. I’d love to see what you cook from here!