Easy Chickpea Curry
This chickpea curry is ready in no time. Most of the ingredients are pantry staples, making this a great dish for those days where your fridge is empty and you don’t want to spend too much time cooking. Yes, this dish requires a lot of different spices that you might not typically use, but honestly, having a broad selection of spices at home is never a bad thing. It will make you find ways to find additional use for them and explore new dishes. More importantly, you can use this recipe as a guideline and get creative: replace or remove some of the spices altogether and come up with your own creation. The technique will remain the same and we’d be happy to hear your favorite adaptations!
Ingredients:
(makes 4-6 servings)
2 cans of chickpeas (400g each), drained and rinsed
400ml of coconut milk
1 onion, finely sliced into thin strips
2 cloves of garlic, minced
1 Bird’s eye chili, minced
2-3 cm knob of fresh ginger, minced
2 tbsp tomato paste
2-3 tsp salt
1 tsp turmeric (=curcuma) powder
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground fenugreek
1 tsp garam masala powder
Optional:
1 tbsp coconut flour
Nigella seeds
Instructions:
In a large pot over medium heat, add a generous amount of coconut or vegetable oil, as well as the onions, garlic, chili, and ginger. Cook for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently. Yes, 10 minutes will feel long, but taking your time here and cooking the ingredients gently will improve the flavours of the final product.
Add all of the dry spices and cook for an additional 3 minutes. This will roast the spices and allow them to release their beautiful flavours, infusing the onions.
Add the tomato paste and mix everything together for an additional 1-2 minutes.
Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas. Stir well to combine everything and coat the chickpeas.
Deglaze with the coconut milk and let simmer gently over medium low heat for around 10-15 minutes. Depending on how thick you want your curry, you can do this with the lid on or off the pot.
Taste and adjust for seasoning.
Optionally, add 1 tbsp of coconut flour to amp up the coconut flavor and help thicken your curry.
Garnish with nigella seeds and serve with a side of steamed basmati rice, your favorite Naan, and some salad.
Enjoy!
