Easy, Tasty Chickpea Curry

Prep: 10 mins

Cook: 20 mins

Difficulty: Easy

Servings: 4 Servings

Here’s a simple curry that can stay vegetarian (vegan even) or, with the simple addition of some shrimp or chicken, make a fine dish for the carnivore. The most important thing is that this delicious curry is built largely from your canned goods stash: coconut milk, tinned chickpeas and tomatoes. Just add a few fresh veg, some spices and Bob’s your uncle!

Ingredients

1 clove of garlic
1/2 teaspoon peppercorns
1/2 teaspoon coriander seeds
2 tablespoons oil
1 tablespoon curry powder
2 cups stock (chicken or vegetable)
2 cups sliced potatoes
2 cups sliced carrots
2 cups cauliflower florets
1 (14-ounce) can chopped tomatoes
1 (14-ounce) can coconut milk
1 (14-ounce) can chickpeas
2 tablespoons soy sauce
1 tablespoon fish sauce (or vegan fish sauce)
1 tablespoon honey (or agave syrup, for a vegan adaptation)
1/4 cup slivered basil leaves, plus small whole leaves for garnish

Instructions

In a mortar, grind the garlic, peppercorns and coriander seeds into a paste. (Alternatively, finely chop the garlic with ground versions of the peppercorns and coriander.)
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven. Fry garlic mixture until fragrant. Add curry powder and fry a little longer to release flavors.
Add stock, potatoes and carrots and bring to a gentle simmer. After about five minutes, add the cauliflower, tomatoes, coconut milk, chickpeas, soy and fish sauces and honey. Bring to a gentle simmer and continue cooking until the vegetables are done and the sauce has begun to thicken.
Taste for seasonings and add additional soy sauce or honey as needed. You may want to add more heat via hot chile paste if your curry powder wasn't hot enough.
Remove from heat and stir in the basil. Serve over rice with the additional basil on top as a garnish.