Skillet Chickpea Curry

I made this because I needed something different that my kids would still eat, and that is a narrow window in this house.

It is mild. No heat at all, just warmth from the cumin and the cinnamon, and I blend it smooth rather than leaving it chunky. That is the part that won my girls over. They were not expecting curry for supper, and they ate it anyway.

The other reason it stays in the rotation is that all of it comes out of the cupboard. One onion, a few cloves of garlic, three cans of chickpeas, a can of tomatoes, a can of coconut milk. Nothing has to be fresh and nothing has to be planned. It is gluten-free and dairy-free as written, if you use the olive oil rather than the butter, and we have eaten it over rice, over a baked potato, and spooned over eggs in the morning.

Why the spices go into the oil first

There is one step in this recipe that decides whether you end up with a curry or with canned tomatoes, and it takes about forty seconds. The dry spices go straight into the hot oil, before any liquid, and they cook there until you can smell them.

The reason is that most of what you want out of cumin, coriander, turmeric, and paprika is not water-soluble. It lives in oil. Drop the spices into the tomatoes and they stay powdery and flat no matter how long you simmer. Give them half a minute in the fat first and they open up and carry through the whole pot. Keep the spoon moving, because ground spice goes from toasty to burnt fast.

What I have learned making this

• Rinse the chickpeas properly. The liquid in the can is starchy and salty, and it will make the sauce taste tinny. Rinse until the water runs clear.
• Full-fat coconut milk, not light. The fat is what makes the sauce coat a spoon. Light coconut milk will leave you with something thin that never quite comes together.
• Let it simmer uncovered. Ten to twelve minutes with the lid off is what reduces it. Covered, the water has nowhere to go.
• The blender is a choice, not a step. An immersion blender turns it smooth and creamy. Leave it alone and you get whole chickpeas in a thick sauce. Both are right.
• Salt and lemon go in off the heat. And it wants more of both than you would guess. Taste it, add, taste it again.

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Skillet Chickpea Curry

A pantry curry built on cans. Chickpeas, tomatoes, and coconut milk, blended smooth and spooned over rice. Gluten-free and dairy-free as written.

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Prep Time 10 minutes mins

Cook Time 25 minutes mins

Total Time 35 minutes mins

Servings: 6 servings

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: Indian-Inspired

Ingredients Method Notes

Ingredients

  

• 2 tbsp olive oil or butter
• 1 large yellow onion diced small
• 4 cloves garlic minced
• 1 tbsp grated fresh ginger optional
• 2 tsp ground cumin
• 2 tsp ground coriander
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp paprika
• 1/2 tsp cinnamon optional
• 1 can 28 oz diced tomatoes, or two 14.5 oz cans
• 3 cans 15 oz chickpeas, drained and rinsed
• 1 can 13.5 oz full-fat coconut milk
• 1 1/2 tsp salt more to taste
• 1 lemon juiced
• 1 handful chopped cilantro

Method

 

1. Heat the oil in a large deep skillet over medium. Add the onion and a pinch of salt and cook 6 to 7 minutes, until soft and just coloring.
2. Add the garlic and ginger and cook 1 minute, until fragrant.
3. Add all the dry spices straight into the oil, stirring constantly, 30 to 45 seconds, until toasty. Do not let them scorch. This step is the difference between a curry and canned tomatoes.
4. Add the tomatoes, scraping the bottom of the pan. Simmer 5 minutes, until slightly thickened and darker.
5. Add the chickpeas and coconut milk. Simmer uncovered 10 to 12 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it coats a spoon.
6. Blend with an immersion blender for a smoother curry, or leave it as is if you prefer it chunky.
7. Off the heat, add the lemon juice, salt, and cilantro. Taste again. It almost always wants more salt and more lemon than you would guess.

Notes

Feeds 6 to 8 depending on what you serve it over.

Gluten-free and dairy-free as written, if you use the olive oil rather than the butter.

The spices. They go into the hot oil before any liquid and cook there 30 to 45 seconds. Keep the spoon moving. This is the step that makes it taste like a curry.

Coconut milk. Full-fat, not light. The fat is what makes the sauce coat a spoon.

Blending. An immersion blender makes it smooth and creamy. Leave it alone for whole chickpeas in a thick sauce. Either is right.

To stretch it further. Stir in shredded chicken or tofu at the end. Serve it over rice, over a baked potato, or spooned over eggs.

Keeping it. Several days in the refrigerator and better on day two. It freezes well, and blended it thaws in better shape than chunky.

Questions I get about this curry

Can I use dried chickpeas instead of canned?

Yes. Three cans drain to about four and a half cups, so cook that much and add them at the same point. Dried chickpeas hold their shape better, which matters if you are not blending it.

Do I have to blend it?

No. I blend ours because we like it smooth and it goes further over rice that way. If you want to see the chickpeas, skip it entirely, or blend half and stir it back in.

Is it spicy?

Not as written. There is warmth from the cumin and cinnamon but no heat at all. If you want heat, add cayenne or a chopped chili with the dry spices so it blooms along with them.

Can I add meat?

Shredded chicken stirred in at the end works well, and so does tofu. Neither one needs the recipe to change. The sauce is doing the work either way.

How long does it keep?

Several days in the refrigerator, and it is better on day two. It also freezes well. Blended, it comes out of the freezer in better shape than chunky does, because the chickpeas soften as they thaw.

If you make this, come back and tell me what you put it over. Ours has landed on rice, on a baked potato, and on a plate of eggs in the morning.

More from the kitchen: gluten-free black bean enchiladas and 5 swaps that make your kitchen feel like yours.