Chickpea curry
€4.01 │ €1.00 per portion │ Serves 4 │ 30-45mins │ India
Deliciously spiced chickpeas in punchy, but accessible flavours of curried tomato. This recipe offers a warming and reliable chickpea curry and rice that's also vegan.
Chickpea curry is affordable and makes plenty of leftovers. A meal plan essential!
What to serve it with?
Chickpea curry is filling and rich in savoury flavours. This is best with rice, but also goes well with saag aloo or flatbreads, as well as small, fresh sides. Think mint yoghurt, or a little salad of pickles and/or cucumbers.
How to use in a meal plan
Good home economics is using ingredients smartly - and that saves money and cuts food waste. A meal plan is a great way to do this.
Chickpea curry is a good bulk meal. Packed with flavour and easy to scale, it's a guaranteed lunch and dinner combo, and often comes with much extra. Perfect to freeze as an emergency meal!
When we meal plan, we usually make a chickpea curry when we want to rely on fewer fresh ingredients or stock up on freezer meals.
Leftovers
Spoonfeed meal plans save you money by using the economy of scale. Making dinner also your leftover lunch avoids spending money and extra time cooking!
Chickpea curry is great the next day warmed back up. It microwaves great. Be aware of zapping the curry of too much moisture, and of course, not to reheat rice more than once. For ease, chickpea curry and rice can be kept together in the same tupperware (separated, not on top of each other, if possible).
Utensils
- Sauté pot + lid/aluminium foil
- Saucepan + lid
- Ladle/serving spoon
Ingredients
- 570g chickpeas
- 250g rice
- 400ml can crushed tomato
- 400ml coconut milk
- 1 carrot
- 1 large onion
- 4 garlic cloves
- 1 tbsp ginger
- 2 tbsp butter/ghee/margarine
- 1 tbsp turmeric
- 1 tbsp cumin seeds
- 1 tbsp garam masala
- 1 tbsp chilli powder
- 1 vegetable stock cube
- 1 tsp honey/sugar
- 4 cloves
- 2 cardamom seeds
- 2 bay leaves
- Fresh coriander (optional)
Method
- Dice onions, garlic, and ginger. Cut carrots into demi-rondelles, not too thin but not too chunky. Cut coriander stalks thinly, roughly cut the leaves.
- Rinse chickpeas and set aside. Rinse rice under cold water until it runs clear and put in a saucepan. Add cardamom, cloves, and a bay leaf, then boiling water to the ratio instructed on your packet. They say you can eyeball this by poking your outstretched index finger just into the rice, then covering to around your first knuckle. Bring to the boil, once boiling, simmer for 12 minutes. Don't take the lid off. After 12 minutes, leave to steam for 5 minutes, fluff with a fork, then put the lid back on and steam for another 5 minutes.
- While the rice cooks heat butter/ghee/margarine on medium heat in a sauté pot. Once melted, add cumin seeds and fry for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add onions with a salt and pepper for 3-5 minutes, until it begins to take colour, then add garlic and ginger, frying until fragrant for about 1 minute. Add carrot, mixing well for 1 more minute.
- Add chickpeas and keep the ingredients moving for 1 minute. Then add crushed tomato, mix well, then put in turmeric, chilli powder, coriander stalks, garam masala, and a bay leaf. Cover with 250-400ml stock (barely enough to cover), and top with the lid or aluminium foil. Simmer for 5-10 minutes.
- Once the curry is boiling, add honey/sugar and coconut milk. Cook for another 3-5 minutes on low heat until it begins to slowly boil. Don't leave the heat too high or the coconut milk will split.
- Serve curry with rice and any other sides, garnishing with coriander leaves.
- Enjoy!