A fast recipe to make delicious and flavorsome Coconut Chickpea Curry. Serve it over steamed rice, quinoa, brown rice or with any flatbreads like Naan, roti or paratha.

Recipe Snapshot

  • Prep time: 15 minutes
  • Cook time: 25 minutes
  • Total time: 40 minutes
  • Yield: 4
  • Category: Main Course
  • Cuisine: Indian

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons oil ((or ghee for flavor))
  • 3 cups chickpeas ((precooked or 2 - 15 Oz cans or 1 cup dry chickpeas, refer notes))
  • 1½ cup onions ((fine chopped, 1 large or 2 medium onions))
  • 1 tablespoon ginger ((1 inch fresh root, peeled & fine chopped))
  • 1 tablespoon garlic ((4 to 5 garlic cloves, peeled & fine chopped))
  • 1½ cups fresh tomato puree ((or 1 cup canned/bottled tomato puree))
  • 1½ teaspoon salt ((adjust to taste))
  • 1 teaspoon Kashmiri red chili powder ((adjust to taste, or mild smoked paprika))
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon cumin powder
  • 1 tablespoon coriander powder
  • 1 tablespoon curry powder ((or 1 teaspoon garam masala or pav bhaji masala))
  • ½ to 1 teaspoon garam masala ((start with ½ teaspoon))
  • 1 teaspoon sugar ((optional, to balance the flavors))
  • ¾ cups water or stock ((use up to 1¼ cups, refer notes))
  • 1¼ cups coconut milk ((canned or first pressed or water or stock, refer notes))
  • ¼ cup coriander leaves ((chopped cilantro))

Method

How to make Chickpea Curry

  1. Pour oil to a large pot & heat on a medium flame. Add chopped onions and cook until golden, stirring every 2 mins.
  2. Add ginger and garlic. Saute for 1 to 2 mins until the aroma of ginger garlic comes out.
  3. Lower the heat completely. Add salt, red chili powder, turmeric, cumin powder, coriander powder and curry powder (or garam masala).
  4. Give a quick stir, taking care not to burn them. When you smell the spices aromatic, stir in the tomato puree. If using fresh tomato puree (not bottled), cook for about 4 to 5 mins, on a medium heat until the tomatoes cook down and loose the raw flavor.
  5. Add chickpeas (Preboiled or canned), water (or stock) and coconut milk. Mix well. If using canned chickpeas, make sure they are tender and not hard. Drain the liquid away in your sink from the can and rinse them well before adding to the coconut curry.
  6. Cover and simmer on a low heat for 15 mins, stirring every 5 mins so the curry doesn’t burn at the bottom. When done the chickpeas should have a soft and melt-in-the- mouth texture with all of the flavors absorbed. If they taste bland cook them a little longer, adding more water if required.
  7. Stir in the garam masala and sugar. Taste test and add more salt or garam masala if required.
  8. Turn off the heat. Keep the coconut chickpeas curry covered until served, this helps to retain the flavors of the garam masala.
  9. When the temperature comes down a bit, garnish with chopped coriander leaves. Squeeze in some lemon juice and serve over steamed rice, quinoa & millets or with roti, naan or any flatbreads.

Kiyaan Singh’s Kitchen Note

Keep this recipe as a working base: cook once as written, then adjust spice, texture, and serving style for your own table.