Chickpea Coconut Curry Recipe

I love a pantry meal. You know, one of those dump-and-do recipes that you assemble from the cans in your pantry.

My idea of a pantry meal may be unexpected. Instead of mac and cheese from a blue box, I like to make a soul-warming curry from ingredients from my well-stocked pantry and spice drawer. Curries are reliable concoctions when the weather’s lousy and I’d rather cook than get in my car and drive to a restaurant.

I tend to keep cans of tomatoes, beans and coconut milk on hand, so curry is a snap to assemble. With a few well-chosen spices, it becomes a warming meal on a gray, drizzly day. I made a few substitutions with this recipe that kept me in the house and out of the grocery store. Instead of a 28-ounce can of whole tomatoes, I subbed in two 15-ounce cans of petite diced tomatoes. The extra volume didn’t alter the end product at all.

To jazz up ordinary dishes, I almost always have either fresh ginger or ginger paste-in-a-tube in my refrigerator, but had run out when I was ready to make the curry. I grabbed my stash of crystallized ginger from the pantry and used an equal amount in the recipe.

Chickpea Coconut Curry Recipe

adapted from Indian Butter Chickpeas recipe at NYT Cooking

Chickpea Curry Recipe

3 tablespoons unsalted butter (can substitute olive oil for all or part)
1 onion, chopped
1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
4 garlic cloves, minced
1 tablespoon grated fresh ginger or 1 1-inch piece crystallized ginger, chopped
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons sweet paprika
2 teaspoons garam masala
1 large cinnamon stick snapped into 2 pieces
2 cans (14.5 ounces each) petite cut diced tomatoes
1 can (15 ounces) coconut milk
2 cans (15 ounce) chickpeas, drained
Pinch of ground cayenne pepper or your favorite hot sauce, optional

Cooked white or brown rice or quinoa for serving

Instructions

1. In a Dutch oven or other heavy-bottomed pot or skillet, melt butter over medium heat. Stir in onion and 1/2 teaspoon salt and cook until golden brown.
2. Stir in ginger and garlic and add spices: cumin, paprika, garam masala and the cinnamon stick and cook briefly,
3. Add tomatoes and stir in coconut milk and the remaining 1 teaspoon salt. Let the mixture bubble up and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.
4. Mix in chickpeas and a pinch of cayenne or splash of hot sauce, if you like. Continue heating for about 10 minutes. Taste for seasoning, adding salt or hot sauce to your liking. Be sure to discard cinnamon sticks before serving.
5. Serve curry spooned over white rice. I serve curry with untraditional grains like brown rice and quinoa, too.

More Comfort Food Classics from A Cook and Her Books

Practice roux-making skills with my tomato gravy recipe. Tomato gravy isn’t a red sauce, but a creamy gravy flavored with chopped, summer-fresh tomatoes served over split buttermilk biscuits. 

Try Chef Scott Peacock’s Chicken and Dumplings recipe. It’s a refined Southern classic that will build your reputation as a legendary cook.

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