One Pot Coconut Chickpea Curry is a warm and comforting meatless, vegetarian meal.
I’ve never been very big on serving up vegetarian dishes in my house. I like vegetables and all (quite a lot, actually), but the idea of serving non-meat kinds of dinners in my house is not met with great enthusiasm by my family. So I save dishes like this One Pot Coconut Chickpea Curry for times when dinner is just for me, and then I can munch on it for a few days and keep it all to myself.
The end result is served over some steamed rice (quinoa would be great too). I like to keep things low carb and serve it over cauliflower rice. If you happen to be following the Weight Watchers WW plan, you will find a link to the WW Points on the recipe card at the end of this post.
The Kitchn Cookbook
This recipe comes from the new book by Sara Kate Gillingham and Faith Durand: The Kitchn Cookbook- Recipes, Kitchens and Tips to Inspire Your Cooking. I have always been a fan of their website: TheKitchn.com- great recipes shared, lots of product recommendations and cooking tips. Their cookbook is much of the same. You can see that I have several recipes tagged to make. I had to hold myself back from tagging more because there were a lot of things that looked great!
This Coconut Chickpea Curry is a one-pot masterpiece. That means you will only have to clean one dish, and that’s a big-fat-bonus, right?? Onion, garlic, ginger, tomato, chickpeas and cauliflower are simmered in a spiced-up (not HOT!) coconut curry sauce. The spinach is swirled in just before serving.
I’m the only one who eats this for dinner in my house when I make it since my husband is a “meat” guy. But, I eat it for days, and I really enjoy it a lot.
The spicy flavors are enough to keep things interesting, and the chickpeas and cauliflower help to make it a filling and satisfying dish. This one is on my list of vegetarian meals to make again and again!
Here are a few more one pot recipes you might enjoy:
- One Pot Chicken Vegetable Soup
- One Pot Caprese Pasta
- One Pot Chicken Spaghetti
- One Pot Creamy Chicken and Vegetable Pasta
One Pot Coconut Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 teaspoon ground ginger
- 4 green cardamom pods
- 1 tablespoon unsalted butter or ghee
- 1 small yellow onion, diced
- 4 large garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tablespoon grated ginger (from a 3-inch peeled piece)
- One 14.5-ounce can diced tomatoes
- Two 15-ounce cans chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- One 14-ounce can well shaken coconut milk (use light if counting WW Points)
- One small head cauliflower, chopped
- 5 ounces baby spinach (5 cups, loosely packed)
- 3 tablespoons freshly squeezed lemon juice (1 large lemon)
- 1 teaspoon salt (more or less, to taste)
- cooked rice or quinoa, for serving (if desired)
Instructions
- In a small bowl, combine the garam masala, cumin and ground ginger. Use the flat of a chef's knife to crack the cardamom pods and add those to the bowl too.
- Heat the butter in a heavy skillet or Dutch oven over medium heat. Add the onion and cook for about 10 minutes, browning the onion and letting it develop dark color, although without burning it. Stir in the garlic and ginger and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the spices from the cup and stir them into the onion mixture. Add the tomatoes and the chickpeas and saute for about 2 minutes. Take the pan off the heat and stir in the shaken coconut milk. Return the pan to the heat and bring to a gentle boil. Turn down the heat, stir in the cauliflower and simmer for about 30 minutes, or until the chickpeas are tender and the sauce has reduced slightly.
- Add the baby spinach in handfuls, stirring in each handful to help it wilt before adding the next. Stir in the lemon juice. Taste and season with salt.
- Serve immediately over rice, or let cool and refrigerate. The curry will hold up well in the refrigerator in an airtight container for up to 5 days.
Notes
- If you are preparing this recipe as GLUTEN-FREE, just be sure to use brands of tomatoes, chickpeas and coconut milk that are known to be GF.
- If you don't have fresh spinach, it's okay to sub 1 cup thawed and drained frozen.
- If you are counting WW points, use light coconut milk for an accurate point count.
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
This was delicious.
Just made this tonight and it was a big thumbs up. I made a few edits, tomato puree instead of diced, and coconut cream for coconut milk, and I was more heavy handed with the spices (we like assertive Indian food). It was easy to make and will be family favorite.
Delicious!!! I just made this with roasted coconut oil rubbed cauliflower. Which roasted while browning the onions to cut down on cooking time. Thank you for a wonderful healthy comfort food recipe!
Delish! really good vegan dish, lots of flavor.
Great healthy recipe! Hubby enjoyed having another vegetarian option for lunch. I added 3/4 tsp of red chili powder for some heat, 2 tablespoons of dried fenugreek leaves (crushed in my hand and added to the curry pot) for some tang and salt to taste. I didn’t think there’d be enough liquid in the pan to cook both the chickpeas and cauliflower so I boiled the cauliflower in a separate pot for a few minutes and then added to the curry pot. The lemon juice helps to cut through the coconut milk flavor adding balance.
Thanks, Lori! I can do cinnamon and nutmeg easily! And I have a fridge full of CSA spinach and cauliflower. Perfect!
I WISH the other people in my house would be as excited about this dish as I am, because this would be the perfect meal for me. I love these flavors and the Kitchn is one of my favorite websites. I need to get this cookbook!
Great recipe! I made a few modifications because I like my curry spicy and bursting with flavor. This recipe uses too little salt for my taste and I think adding it before the curry simmers together helps the curry soak it up and enhance the flavor of the other ingredients, versus adding it at the end when it just will sit on top and not contribute as well. I also added MSG, cayenne pepper and kashmiri chili powder to taste at the beginning of the simmering process. I imagine fish sauce would be a good substitute for those wary of adding straight MSG to their dishes.
That just looks so wonderful! The addition of cadamom and curry?? MMMMM MMMMM gooooood!
One pot meals are a huge plus! This looks hearty and delicious!
I love these flavors! Cauliflower is so hearty too, the perfect sub for meat.