I love a good chickpea curry, and even better, a homemade chickpea curry. While I used to eat a lot of curry when living in Birmingham (home of the Balti Triangle!), I love making this one at home as it’s just so easy, and tastes as good as professionally made. This curry recipe is inspired by curries of South East Asia, with flavourful ginger, yellow thai paste, and peanut butter. It makes for a fresh yet creamy dish, with mild spice all the way through!
If you’re not super confident in the kitchen, or would simply like an easier, food waste-free way to make this dish, you’ll be pleased to learn that this recipe is one of hundreds of recipes from HelloFresh! As the UK’s #1 recipe box delivery service, they offer quick, easy meals that you can select each week and cater to your food choices too. Plus, if you use the code HELLOAFF50 you’ll get 50% off your first box, and 35% off next three boxes!
A Store Cupboard Favourite
While I love to cook seasonably, this recipe makes the most of store cupboard ingredients. So, be sure to keep it in your back pocket for when you’re running low on fresh groceries! The main ingredients in this curry are chickpeas, coconut milk, garlic cloves, and sweet potato = everything with a relatively long shelf-life! It’s also a great year-round recipe, as curries so often are. In the summer, I like to pair curries with less rice, and a fresh salad or bowl of pickles, and in the winter, give me more rice and lots of bread!
For this chickpea curry recipe, I enjoyed making it with my favourite sauce pans, as well as simple tools such as a knife, chopping board, and grater. I think anyone can be a good cook with very few tools – it just takes a bit of practice. I also adapted the recipe to my own way of cooking rice – I prefer to fry rice off before boiling, a technique my dad taught me, and his mum taught him. My ability to cook basmati rice to perfection is one of my most cherished Middle Eastern traits!
One of the things that I love about HelloFresh recipes are the additional sides and flavours. The sautéed spinach in ketjap manis, and the drizzle of lime, take the flavours in this dish up a notch! If you’re feeling extra fancy, why not sprinkle over some crushed cashew nuts as well.
And my pro-tip for this recipe? Buy your spinach frozen. It’s much cheaper than fresh, and can be cooked up whenever you like!
Creamy Vegan Chickpea Curry Recipe
Serves 2 – 35-40 minutes – Mild Spice – 1 of your 5 a day – Vegan
Ingredients:
- 1 x Sweet potato
- 2 x Garlic clove
- 1 x Lime
- 390g Chickpeas
- 150g Basmati rice
- 1 tbsp Ginger purée
- 2 tbsp Yellow Thai style paste
- 10g Vegetable stock paste
- 200ml Coconut milk
- 20g Peanut butter
- 100g Baby spinach
- 1 tbsp Ketjap manis
- 3 tbsp Cooking oil
- Salt and pepper, to taste
Method:
- Peel and chop the sweet potato in 2cm chunks. Peel and grate the garlic (or use a garlic press). Zest and cut the lime into wedges. Drain and rinse the chickpeas in a sieve.
- Boil 300ml cold water in a kettle. In a small non-stick sauce pan, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil on medium heat. Pour rice in a sieve and rinse with water. Pour into sauce pan, stirring to coat rice with oil. Once kettle has boiled, cover rice with water (1:1 ratio). Add a pinch of salt, turn down to simmer, and place a lid on top. Leave to cook for 10 mins, then remove the pan from the heat (still covered) and leave to the side until ready to serve.
- While the rice cooks, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a large saucepan on medium-high heat. Once hot, add the ginger purée, yellow Thai style paste, and half the garlic. Stir and cook for 1 min.
- Add the sweet potato and chickpeas to the pan, then stir in the veg stock paste, coconut milk, peanut butter, and 150ml cold water. Stir to thoroughly combine, 2-3 mins. Bring to the boil, then reduce to a simmer. Cover with the lid and simmer, stirring frequently, until the sweet potato is tender, 15-20 mins. Add a splash of water if the sauce becomes too thick.
- About 6-8 mins before your curry is ready, heat 1 tbsp cooking oil in a frying pan on medium-high heat. When hot, add the baby spinach a handful at a time and allow it to wilt slightly, 1-2 mins. Once it begins to wilt, add the ketjap manis and remaining garlic and stir-fry until some of the liquid has evaporated, 2-3 mins. Remove from the heat once wilted and piping hot.
- When everything is ready, fluff up the rice with a fork and stir through the lime zest. Add a squeeze of lime juice to the curry, then taste and add more salt, pepper, and lime juice if needed. Share the rice between your bowls and spoon the curry onto one side with the garlic spinach on the other. Serve with any remaining lime cut into wedges for squeezing over. Enjoy!
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If you’re looking for more easy, quick, and delicious recipes to try, I thoroughly recommend HelloFresh! I’ve been using HelloFresh for years now, and love learning new recipes through the service, as well as ways to reduce on food-waste in my home. With pre-portioned ingredients, easy to follow recipe cards, and more sustainable packaging than ever before, it’s well worth trying! Use code HELLOAFF50 to get 50% off your first box, and 35% off next three boxes (and let me know how you get on!)