My favorite neighborhood Indian restaurant closed last year and I’ve been crying on the inside ever since.
I can’t even remember the last time I enjoyed flavorful Indian curries and tender naan.
Talk about depressing.
So I finally mustered up the courage to cook my own chickpea veggie curry at home.
Now I’m not going to lie… my expectations were pretty low.
But I was pleasantly surprised!
Although this recipe wasn’t quiteee as good as my old favorite, it still turned out tasty and satisfying.
I started off by gently sautéing diced yellow onion in unrefined coconut oil until nice and soft. I then threw minced fresh ginger in the pot, along with a hefty dose of fragrant garam masala, a couple pinches of ground turmeric plus cayenne for spice, and freshly ground black pepper along with sea salt of course. I stirred and cooked the spices for a wee minute then invited lightly drained canned diced tomatoes and light coconut milk to the party.
Blennnnd until smooth and creamy.
Our star, canned chickpeas, made a fashionably late entrance flanked by her entourage, sweet diced carrots and petit broccoli florets.
Simmer down (lidded to keep all the goods in that pot) until our veggies are crisp-tender or however tender you want them, then serve all that lusciousness over a bowl of steaming brown rice.
Cilantro and lime wedges made an appearance to the afterparty.
P.S. I honestly can’t think of any… hmmm.
P.P.S. Oh oh I know! You can certainly add a bigger variety of veggies or swap in other veggies if you want! Green beans, cauliflower, potatoes, and peas would all be yum. And spinach!
P.P.P.S. I was going to utilize my emersion blender but realized it’s kind of broken, so I carefully poured the chunky curry into an actual blender, then carefully poured the smooth liquid back into the pot. Hooray, no spills.
P.P.P.P.S. Gosh I almost forgot! I got my recipe inspo from this Easy Coconut Chickpea Curry by Yup, it’s Vegan! And no I couldn’t leave well enough alone and made several changes. Feel free to do the same of course!
Coconut Chickpea Curry with Veggies
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon unrefined coconut oil
- 3/4 cup small-diced yellow onion
- 1 tablespoon minced fresh ginger
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1/4 teaspoon ground turmeric
- Freshly ground black pepper, to taste
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper, or to taste
- Sea salt, to taste
- 1 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes; lightly drained
- 1 13.5-ounce can light coconut milk (use full fat for a richer curry)
- 3/4 cup diced carrots
- 2 cups small broccoli florets
- 1 15.5-ounce can chickpeas; drained and rinsed
- Cilantro; for serving
- Lime wedges; for serving
- Cooked brown rice, for serving
Instructions
- Melt the coconut oil in a medium-large pot over medium heat.
- Add the onion, then reduce the heat to medium-low.
- Gently cook for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add the ginger, and cook one minute more.
- Stir in the garam masala, turmeric, black pepper, cayenne pepper, and salt, and cook for another minute.
- Stir in the diced tomatoes and coconut milk, then remove from heat.
- Blend until smooth.
- Heat the blended curry until simmering, then stir in the carrots, broccoli, and chickpeas. Cover.
- Simmer until the veggies are cooked to your liking. (I prefer crisp-tender.)
- Serve over brown rice, with cilantro and lime wedges.