These days, my favourite meals are ones I can just throw into a pan, stir a few times and then viola, dinner is ready! They are easy, don’t require much work or attention and they are pretty tasty too! I recently created this recipe and what I would love to call this is a one-pan wonder! That’s how much I love it!
I realised that I haven’t yet shared a basic coconut chickpea curry recipe here and it seemed like the perfect easy, budget-friendly, not-weird meal to break up the comfort food monotony. This healthy but comforting dish is inspired by Indian cuisine and easily customized with whatever nutritious vegetables and accompaniments you prefer.
Sometimes I see curry recipes on food blogs that basically amount to stirring together chickpeas, coconut milk, and curry powder. We are not making our coconut chickpea curry like that today. We are building together several layers of seasoned umami flavour that will not leave you disappointed. Not to worry – this naturally vegan, gluten-free stew is still VERY easy to make, just follow the instructions and you will be good to go.
You’d think I’d be bored of talking about curry by now. But I’m really, absolutely, definitely not. In my humble opinion, curry is one of the greatest dishes this world has ever seen – with varieties so wildly different you could eat a new one every day and never sample them all.
This vegan coconut curry is one to add to the ‘must eat’ list. A lot of recipes get tried and tested for this website, and many get discarded or fall by the wayside in favour of something bigger, or bolder, or generally more exciting. Taste alone isn’t always enough to guarantee a spot on this site (although it really helps) – a recipe needs to stand out in other ways.
The joy of this recipe is its simplicity. After a little prepping at the beginning, the ingredients hit the frying pan – and that’s it! They’ll fry along happily while the sauce pretty much cooks itself. It doesn’t get any easier when it comes to effort vs quality ratio. Use any beans you want – chickpeas are an obvious choice, but any beans will taste great. There aren’t many veggies I wouldn’t use in this (maybe fennel and beetroot).
You know I’m a fan of the chickpea, right? It’s not like I started out that way. I used to hate chickpeas, otherwise know as garbanzo beans. I mean, who could like something called a garbanzo? Just watching people eating them and would get me nauseous! Seriously. It’s a good thing taste buds change over time. Hummus might have been the thing that helped get me over the chickpea hurdle. It’s hard not to love hummus. I guess you could call it a gateway drug!
This meal is kinda in-between a stew and a rice bowl. It’s all cooked together with some creamy delicious coconut milk and veggie broth, but all the liquid is absorbed so it’s not quite a soup. It’s also a really comforting meal, but I’m hoping the one-pan-ness of it makes it acceptable for summer too 🙂
Please bear in mind that when I say 'curry', I do not seek to simplify the whole of India's cuisine. I use the word curry as an indication that the resultant dish will be a central, often carby, ingredient such as potatoes or legumes, cooked in a sauce spiced with the likes of cumin, turmeric and chilli powder. That is what the term 'curry' means in Britain: merely a helpful indicator to the nature of the dish. In fact, on reading up, it seems in India the term curry doesn't even exist; it is an anglicism, exported during the British occupation of India.
Seasoning with salt and lemon juice will bring everything to life. I always season food with salt and acid and usually skip the pepper; it's a spice in itself and its flavour doesn't always go well. A final sprinkle of garam masala adds one last waft of Indian spice. Garam masala – a mix of cinammon, cardomom, cloves, bay leaves and cumin (sometimes other spices, too) – is best added at the end of cooking. The initial spices have by now imparted their flavour but lost their fresh aroma; seasoning with garam masala solves this. Finally, to garnish: fresh coriander for the slightly zesty, herbal flavour.
This is not a spicy curry at all; it's mild enough for young children. If you like things spicy, add 1 to 2 chopped jalapenos. Nutrition Tip: batch make this on your day off and store in glass containers in the fridge to enjoy for dinner in the next 1-3 days. If you make more than you can eat, the curry freezes well also!
You have to try this dish. It’s creamy, delicious, and will leave you wanting even more after you’re completely full. It’s also incredibly nutritious, protein packed, and leftovers lasts for days. Do not forget to squeeze a lime over the top. It tastes even better! It’s also perfect for meal prep! This dish is a one-pan masterpiece. That means you will only have to clean one dish, and that’s a big-fat-bonus, right??
IF YOU EVER GIVE THIS RECIPE A TRY, DO LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW AND/OR TAG @FRUITYEMZ AND HASHTAG #FRUITYEMZ ON YOUR INSTAGRAM POST! 🙂
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