Finally – a chickpea recipe worth making!!! With a simple coconut curry sauce made with astonishingly few ingredients, this Brazilian Chickpea Curry transforms lifeless cans of chickpeas into something that sounds exotic, smells enticing, and tastes so, so good….
Brazilian Chickpea Curry
The sauce for this curry is swiped from Brazilian Fish Stew, a traditional Brazilian dish that’s been a reader favourite for many years now. It tastes like a coconut curry, yet it’s made with just 2 spices – paprika and cumin. Far simpler than most of the from-scratch curry pastes I’ve shared over the years!
That fish stew really is all about that sauce, so it was inevitable that I’d start playing around with other ways to use it. Chicken – done. Shrimp/prawns – a winner.
And it turns out it can also totally transform a dull looking can of chickpeas into something totally fabulous!!
What you need for Brazilian Chickpea Curry
Here’s what you need.
Just a few notes on some of the ingredients:
-
Chickpeas – canned for convenience, dried if you prefer (directions in notes)
-
Cayenne pepper is optional – it’s for a kick of spice. Because, well, you know. Curry. Spicy.
-
Coriander haters – sub with chives.
-
Baby Spinach – it’s just to cram some extra greens in. Sub with kale or anything leafy that’s wiltable.
How to make this Chickpea Curry
All in one pot – and it comes together quickly. Once you sauté the onion, garlic and capsicum, you literally just dump everything else in then leave to simmer for 10 minutes to let the sauce thicken.
That is one mighty delicious bowl for something that requires relatively little effort with a “normal” ingredients list.
It’s got a nice workflow flow to it as well. There’s no need to measure out all the spices etc before you start cooking. You pop open the cans and dump them into the pot. Then just measure the spices straight from the jar into the pot.
Oh – speaking of “pot” – I keep saying “pot” even though you see a skillet in the photos and video. The skillet I used was too small – I had to stir the sauce so carefully to avoid spillage.
Don’t make my mistake. Use a pot so you can stir enthusiastically and with abundance. – Nagi x
Watch how to make it
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Brazilian Coconut Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
Chickpea Curry:
- 1.5 tbsp olive oil
- 1 onion , finely chopped
- 2 garlic cloves , minced
- 1 red capsicum/bell peppers , cut into 3 x 0.75cm / 1.25 x 1/3"" strips
- 2 cans chickpeas , drained (Note 1)
- 400ml/14oz coconut milk , full fat for best flavour (Note 2)
- 400ml/14oz can crushed tomato
- 1 cup (250ml) chicken or vegetable stock/broth , low sodium
- 1 tbsp paprika
- 1 tbsp cumin
- 1/2 - 1 tsp cayenne pepper (adjust spiciness to taste)
- 1.5 tsp sugar (any type)
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 50g / 2oz baby spinach leaves (or kale)
Finishing & Serving:
- 3 tbsp coriander/cilantro , roughly chopped, plus more for serving (Note 3)
- 1 tbsp lime juice , plus extra wedges for serving
- Yogurt (optional)
- Rice - or something to soak up the sauce (Note 4)
Instructions
- Heat oil in a pot or large deep skillet over high heat. Add garlic and onion, cook for 1 minute.
- Add capsicum, cook for 2 minutes until onion is translucent and slightly golden on edges.
- Add remaining Curry ingredients except baby spinach. Stir, bring to simmer then lower to medium low so it's simmering gently.
- Simmer 12 - 15 minutes until it changes from pale pink to an orangey red colour.
- Stir in spinach until just wilted, then stir in coriander and lime juice. Add more salt it needed.
- Serve over rice with a dollop of yogurt, extra sprinkle of coriander and squeeze of lime (don't go overboard, I often do and it's too sour!)
Recipe Notes:
- STOVE: soak overnight in lots of water. Pick out anything that doesn't look like chickpeas that floats to the surface. Place in a saucepan with 3 cups of water and simmer on medium for 40 - 50 minutes (depends on chickpea size) until they are very soft. Skim off any skin that floats to the surface. Drain, proceed with recipe.
- PRESSURE COOKER: No soaking required, cover with 3 cups of water and cook 45 minutes on high.
Nutrition Information:
Life of Dozer
You’d think I had a stash of treats in my slippers or something, the way he was snuffling around inside it! (Just to confirm, I did not)
Cannellini beans?
Yep – sorry will fix the spelling now! Thanks Margarita
This was so so delicious, easy to make and everyone love it and said it was the tastiest home made curry they’d ever eaten.
I am not looking at more amazing recipes from this site.
Thank you so much
Another winner Nagi, I had chickpeas in pantry with no idea what to do with them, and …YUM! This recipe was easy and had major flavour burst. My husband is such a meat eater, but enjoyed this so much he asked when we were having it again! Thanks for another winning recipe. Kate xx
That’s awesome Kate!! N x
Perfect dish for my meat free Monday. So quick & full of flavour- big thumbs up! Thank you
Wahoo!!!
You know what I love the most about your recipes Nagi? It’s the fact that your ingredient lists include the Australian as well as the American names and measurements! So so appreciated! Sometimes I feel noone cares about us Aussies it’s always pound of this and quart of that. Thankyou for making it easier for me to just go ahead and make the recipe! Cheers!
You’re so welcome Nag!
Delicious, easy, nutritious dish. So simple to make and pleased even my non-vegetarian diners, Thanks so much, Nagi. This is sure to become a staple.
Wahoo! That’s so great to hear Lorelle! N x
Loved this recipe, I did sub out one of the cans of chick peas for some cauliflower and pumpkin. Thanks Nagi!
That would have been great Georgie!
Hi, love everything you do Nagi! Just wondering if I could sub veggies for a can of chick peas (as I can’t eat too may legumes) and if so, what veggies would you suggest? Thanks so much, Susan
Hi Susan, I love the sauce so much, anything will be great here! Zucchinis, eggplant, broccoli, cauliflower – anything you find in your fridge!
Thanks so much Nagi
Can’t wait to eat this a few more times for leftovers!
Yes – makes the best left overs!! N x
This is definitely going in our regular meal rotation. Even my 18-year old son (who is normally less than enthused about our mostly-vegetarian diet) gave this high praise and came back for seconds!
Perfect Shannon!
This was easy and delicious! You make everything easy to prepare with such great instructions nobody can go wrong here:) Thank you Nagi you have made a pretty good cook out of me as I prefer to bake now I don’t mind cooking!
That’s so lovely to hear Deborah, this makes me so happy!! N x
Delish thank you! I’m always looking for tasty veg based meals to make a number of times a week & this was quick, easy & tasty. Subbed 1 can of chickpeas with lentils and added some chipotle powder for extra kick. Perfect.
Yum! Sounds perfect Kerrie! N x
I have this simmering as I type! Can’t wait for dinner. I used one can of chickpeas and one can of black beans, and I had some very small-diced butternut pumpkin in the fridge I needed to use, so that has gone in too…see how it goes!
You’ll love it Annie!!
Another winner! Only change I made was one can chickpeas and one can butter beans. Saved to my favourites and Hubby happy.
Hi Nagi,
Can this be made ahead of time? Or should I cook it then reheat when serving? Thanks!
Hi Liz, sure can, just reheat to serve. N x
Love this dish. So easy and delicious.
Thanks Nagi.
You are in my kichen most of the time .
Love Dozer too.
I’m so happy you love it Ana, thanks so much ❤️
Another winner! Thank you x
Made this today. For us in Canada whose canned tomatoes come in 14 oz tins, if you open it, drain the liquid off the whole tomatoes then mash them in the can, the yield is the amount called for 🙂 I didn’t have any spinach but had some bok choy so I cut the white ends and sauteed them along with the garlic and onion to soften and used the green ends as my “spinach”. This would easily lend itself to many green substitutions.
I was sure that I would not like this dish but since I had all the ingredients I wanted to try it to have a veggie meal that I could make for vegetarians. I was very pleasantly surprised at how delish it was. I cooked some basmati rice using Nagi’s rice cooking instructions and it came out perfectly. Gave some to a neighbour who doesn’t eat much meat and she really liked it.
NOTE to Nagi – I’m not seeing the instructions for brown rice yet. Am I looking at it and just not seeing it?? Always a possibility.
Another winner!
This is our dinner tonight!!!!! I will serve over buttered quinoa. Otherwise the recipe I am using is exactly what you posted.
I would try this next time with a mixture of beans (dark red kidney beans, black beans, butter beans) over the buttered quinoa.
This is on the stove and smells amazing after having your lentil soup last night. Pastrami tomorrow (cause we love it) and the pork tenderloin to finish the week. Love your recipes.
Woah, that’s commitment! I hope you loved the curry! N x
Can this be frozen?
Sure can Lucy!