Step 1

Chop almonds diagonally. Put a small frying pan on a medium heat and dry roast almonds until lightly browned and fragrant. Make sure you move them around the pan frequently as they burn easily.

Step 2

Heat up the oil in a large frying pan (ideally with a lid). Add chopped shallots and fry on a low heat until almost translucent, stirring from time to time.

Step 3

Add chopped garlic. Keep on stirring frequently until the onion is translucent and garlic softens completely and releases its beautiful aroma.

Step 4

Add all the ground spices to the fried shallots and garlic mixture and stir them around well. Fry them off gently for a minute or two stirring the whole time as they burn easily.

Step 5

Add tomato paste to the pan and stir it into the shallot and garlic mixture.

Step 6

Add chopped tomatoes, sweet potato cubes, salt and add half of the sugar to the pan. Cover the pan with a lid to cook chopped sweet potato. After about 12 minutes of simmering, take the lid off and let the sauce thicken by simmering it slowly, without the lid. Give the sauce a good stir from time to time.

Step 7

Once the sauce thickens, taste it and season with some black pepper and more sugar if needed.

Step 8

Finally, stir in cooked chickpeas, olives and currants and let them warm through. Serve over rice, quinoa or couscous, topped with toasted almonds and chopped parsley.