Coconut Chickpea Curry (vegan)
South-Indian flavours in a protein-packed recipe
This is not Chana Masala, but it’s also quite tasty. This recipe mixes up the Northern Indian love for chickpeas with the Southern Indian use of coconut milk in their curries.
I travelled to India 6 years ago and what I enjoyed most was learning about the different use of ingredients, specially spices. In Kerala (South India), I went to a herb and spice garden and the owner explained all the properties each ingredient had and how by using it in different dishes it also helps cure different ailments. These ideas are Ayurvedic. Ayurveda is an ancient system of holistic healing that surrounds every aspect of one’s life, including food.
The use of spices is not determined so much by flavour but by properties, with the mission of providing a harmonious balance for the physical, emotional and spiritual well-being. Some are warming, stimulating digestion, like cumin and ginger. Others are cooling, alleviating inflammation, like coriander and fennel. Others are antimicrobial, like turmeric and cloves. Or even relaxing, like the fragrant cardamom.
I am of course no expert and the spices you see below are just some of the most used in Northern curries. Also, sometimes I modify a bit the recipe according to what I have. If I don’t have ground ginger I don’t mind so much because I am adding fresh ginger later. And last time I made it I was out of fennel seeds, and it was no big deal. I wouldn’t skip the cumin, coriander, turmeric, cinnamon and cardamom mix as it really gives a beautiful flavour. And the paprika and cayenne bring some smokiness and heat, but you can adjust to your taste.
Some tips
To prep, you can throw all spices together in a bowl as they are going in at the same time. You can also mix the minced ginger and garlic, but keep the onions separate because they need to brown a bit first.
In the United States I find cans of fire roast tomatoes and I love them! They bring extra smokiness. But if you can’t find them, you can either use normal tin tomatoes or grill your own!
Also, if you have coconut cream instead of milk, feel free to use it. The curry will be extra creamy, which is never bad in my book!
It’s important that the spices bloom (a process done by heating some oil and slightly cooking the seeds to open them) or that they dry-roast to release their flavours and properties. But you should’t do it for more than a few seconds because if you burn them it’s all over. That’s why here we sauté the onion first, then the garlic-ginger and finally we throw in the spices to roast for a bit until adding the wet ingredients preventing them to burn.
Ingredients
2 tsp ground ginger
2 tsp ground cumin
3/4 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp fennel seeds
1/4 tsp ground cloves
1/4 green cardamom, crushed
1/4 tsp smoked paprika
Salt, pepper & cayenne, to taste
2 tbsp vegetable oil
1 medium yellow onion, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 tbsp ginger, minced
1 can fire roasted diced tomato
1 can coconut milk
2 can chickpeas, drained & rinsed
1 tbsp fresh lime juice, or to taste
1/4 cup cilantro leaves, or to taste
Instructions
Prep time: 45 minutes
Servings: 4
Measure spices into a bowl
Heat oil on a large pan over high heat. Add onion and sauté until lightly golden brown (don’t burn!)
Add garlic & ginger and sauté 1 minute. Reduce heat to medium, add spices and sauté 30 seconds
Pour and stir in tomatoes and coconut milk. Bring just to a simmer then reduce heat to low, cover and let simmer 10 min.
Carefully blend the mixture with a hand blender or pour the mixture into a blender (covering the blender wit a lid and removing the centre insert to cover with a kitchen towel). Blend on low speed until smooth
Return mixture to pot, add chickpeas, season with salt to taste. Cover with leaving lid partially open occasionally, until sauce has reduced slightly and chickpeas have absorbed some flavour, about 10 min.
Stir in lime. Serve warm over rice and garnish with cilantro
I want to share all kinds of recipies, but I’ll try for most of them to be vegetarian or non requiring of red meat as at home we are trying to leave these dishes for special occasions. Also, all my recipies are quite uncomplicated, sometimes perhaps even too simple, but that’s how I like it :)
Let me know in the comments what kind of food you’d like to see here!
Food News
I thought I’d create this section as a News Digest on food news I found interesting or relevant lately.
Let’s do it from less serious (aka silly) to more serious (aka no laughs):
An American author (and chemist) spilt the tea when she claimed that the perfect cup of tea should have a pinch of salt. And there was almost a diplomatic conflict between two nations. I leave you with some minutes of fun reading here and here.
It seems the Brits can flight back with the following trend: people are loving their food on Tik Tok. I noticed something the other day when I was watching a creator I like on Youtube. The husband mentioned he wanted to prepare a dish that sounded delicious. He saw the recipe on Tik Tok. It was a jacket potato. Can you believe it?
An interesting reflection on why Hell’s Kitchen is still supporting toxic culture with his abusive chef.
How the climate change is affecting one of the favourite things of New Englanders: lobsters.
Understand why farmers all around Europe are taking the streets and what caused it.
Personal Notes
Last weekend I went to the cinema to watch one of the funniest movies I’ve seen in a long time. If you have a chance, go watch American Fiction.
It explains a lot about American racial problem with a very satirical angle. Also, it’s mostly set in Boston and Massachusetts. And it was super fun to be in the neigbourhood’s old cinema and watch a scene that took place only a few meters away from where I was!