Creamy Coconut Chickpea Curry Recipe

TL;DR

A Chickpea curry is an Indian inspired, spiced curry prepared with whole cooked chickpeas, spices and coconut milk.

This recipe is based on the Indian Chole Masala/Chana Masala or restaurant style chickpea tikka masala. It's not an authentic Indian recipe, but rather a modern Indian influenced dish.

I came up and created this recipe when I was looking for a shortcut curry recipe prepared with coconut milk.

Tip: Chickpeas are also known as Garbanzo beans in English.

Ingredient Notes

This recipe is for you if you are getting into Indian food. You will love the flavors if you have eaten Indian food in Western countries.

• Onion – purple or white, I prefer the former.
• Garlic – fresh or paste
• Ginger – fresh or paste (see handy DIY combination ginger garlic paste)
• Tomato – fresh
• Tomato Purée
• Oil – vegetable, sunflower, coconut oil or try mustard oil for more flavor.
• Chickpeas – either dried from scratch soaked and boiled chickpeas or canned chickpeas. Chickpeas and garbanzo beans are the same thing.
• Black Pepper – ground
• Chili Pepper – ground, you may use hot cayenne or mild deep red Kashmiri chili pepper. The choice is yours.
• Turmeric – ground
• Cumin – ground
• Coriander Seeds – ground
• Coconut Milk – unsweetened. It can be organic coconut milk, if you prefer. I like the Thai Kitchen brand coconut milk.
• Garam Masala – that's a spice blend mainly used to season vegetables. You get it in most stores or make it from scratch. Most homes in India have their own Garam Masala version.
• Salt
• Cilantro – fresh to garnish

Adaptations

You can pimp your chickpea curry by adding veggies and other ingredients.

Add a handful or little more to your chickpea curry, but not too much, or else you will be left without curry sauce.

Here are some ideas that will help you to get inspired.

I recommend adding cooked through veggies or al dente vegetables to your curry at the end of the full cooking cycle.

• Cauliflower
• Broccoli
• Potato
• Green Peas
• Eggplant (aka Aubergine)
• Sweet Potato
• Squash (i.e. Zucchini Courgette or Butternut Squash)
• Pumpkin
• Spinach
• Kale
• Mustard Greens
• Gourde – Indian vegetables such as snake gourd, bottle gourd or ridge gourd.
• Drumstick – an Indian vegetable also known as Moringa Pod

Or I like to add any of the following ingredients too, almost at the end of the cooking process.

• Paneer (Indian Cottage Cheese)
• Tofu, firm
• Shrimp (aka Prawns), cooked
• Mushroom
• Lamb, cooked
• Beef, cooked
• Chicken, cooked
• Kidney Beans or Red Beans, canned or boiled
• Peach or Mango purée to add sweetness

How to make it?

My chickpea tikka masala curry is a one pot dinner meal. It comes together effortlessly, and you will have fun preparing it!

Step 1

Prepare and cut all fresh ingredients. Keep cooked chickpeas ready, too.

Step 2

Sauté onion, ginger, garlic, tomato.

Stir in chickpeas, spices and coconut milk.

Step 3

Cook for about 20–30 minutes covered, or until you are satisfied with the flavors and consistency.

Serving

The easiest way to enjoy this coconut milk chickpea curry is with plain cooked or steamed rice.

Currently, I'm in love with brown rice because it's more nutritious and keeps me full longer. That means I don't feel hungry so soon again. Many brown rice variations exist out there, and you will surely find one that suits your needs.

If you like Indian flat breads, then plain rotis or ghee chapati/parathas make for a great curry addition. Indian nan, a northern Indian flat bread, can be served with this curry too.

Otherwise, you may also enjoy whole wheat bread such as spelt flour bread with your curry. If you are into comfort food, you can prepare quick garlic bread too.

If you are into chutneys and pickles, add a small quantity of that to serve with your chickpea enriched coconut curry. They add an element of tartness to your meal. My latest favorite is a red currant chutney.

Storing

This curry keeps well in the fridge for at least a week.

Store your leftovers or meal prep, your chickpea curry in rectangular or square glass jars. They come with a sealable airtight lid, which you can remove, to reheat your curry in the oven or microwave.

That way, you are less likely to transfer your meal to different containers, which will save you time.

The glass containers also look great in your fridge, and you are less likely to forget your leftovers in your fridge (because you see them all the time). You get these glass containers in IKEA or on Amazon.

To Freeze

This curry is also freezer-friendly! Just freeze it in easy to reheat batches. I just use the same rectangular glass container to freeze my curry into batches.

Look out for freezer-friendly glass container with the little snowflake symbol on them (the IKEA ones are fine).

To reheat your frozen curry, place the meal prepped glass containers without the lid into the oven and reheat gradually on a slower temperature.

Frozen curry can be left out to thaw overnight in the fridge too, or directly place the frozen curry into a larger pan and heat up to the curry is perfectly hot and ready for consumption.

FAQs

Indian Curry Recipe Ideas

• Coconut Milk Shrimp Curry
• Mushroom Tikka Masala
• Goan Chicken Curry with Coconut