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….
This is a recipe we regularly make at our food bank, RecipeTin Meals, because it ticks a lot of boxes:our patrons love it, it’s easy to scale up, economical, gluten-free, freezes perfectly!
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)
I dialed back on the Paprika and Cayenne due to the palate of another family member but this recipe is still outstanding in flavour. And so easy to put together.
The kids made this for dinner today and it was soooo yummy! Thanks for giving such clear instructions that even they can make such amazing dinners!
Great recipe for a mid week dinner. So easy and really tasty and I’m sure the flavours will be even better for round 2!!
Thanks!
Pretty good but not a knock out like most of RTE’s other recipes.
Hi Nagi, If i omit the Yoghurt for garnish, would that make this a vegan dish?
Yes it would! N x
My husband made this for dinner last night and it is absolutely delicious! We both agreed it will become a regular in our house. Can’t wait for lunch leftovers ❤
So glad you enjoyed it, Heather! N x
WOW!! Nagi does it again! This was spectacular! I used half regular/half smoked paprika, and the full tsp of cayenne pepper. Wasn’t too spicy. Will definitely be making this again!
So glad you liked it! N x
Delicious vego meal! Will be making it again.. and again!! Yum!
Is the 1tbsp cumin ground cumin or whole seeds cumin?
I grinded my seeds because didn’t want to chew on them later.
Made this for dinner tonight and my husband looked over at me and said “Hey, you gotta make this again.”
So I’d say it was a success 😉
Great recipe! I was actually really surprised by how much we enjoyed this, particularly since it was so simple and quick to make after getting home from work- was a perfect weekday dinner !
Lovely and flavourful. I was sceptical about it having so few ingredients and was tempted to add some other vegetables. But there was no need. Only thing is that I wouldn’t add the sugar next time because it was a bit sweet for me.
We made this last night. So much flavor for what is such a simple recipe!! Great for teenagers to make and equally simple clean up afterwards. Perfect mid meek meal.
Perfect Sarah!!! N x
Hi Nagi, just made this for dinner tonight as I was looking for a chickpea recipe that was both comforting and delicious. Perfect! We had it with some leftover briyani, another delicious recipe of yours, and it was just amazing! Thank you for making our lockdown a little less dreary and a lot more delish! xx
Great balance of flavours – totally delicious & more-ish! Even for my carnivore husband. Imagine it would work well with fish or chicken too. A very tasty curry base for sure. Quick and easy – will definitely be doing again! Thanks Nagi!
A very quick and tasty dish that will be in high rotation. I can imagine it would be great with fish too.
I’ve made this recipe about 10 times now and it came out perfect every time. A lot of flavours in a vegetarian and healthy meal, what more could you ask for? Thank you Nagi
Me and my boyfriend love trying different healthy meals that are very flavorful and this gave us exactly that! It is an incredibly flavorful dish with 0 guilt attached. I definitely would say follow her instructions to not skimp out on the full fat coconut milk, it really makes a big difference trust me! I highly recommend!
Dear Nagi, just finished cooking your brazilian coconut chickpea curry, which I couldn’t stop tasting through the whole procedure, this much yummy it is!! I used dried chickpeas, cooked as you suggested on pressure cooker, and will serve them with basmati rice. Thank you so much for this wonderful, full of flavors recipe. Greetings from Thessaloniki, Greece!
Hi Navi! Could I use smoked paprika in this? I mean, I don’t know why I’m really asking since it’s all I have in the cupboard so I’m going to use it anyway 😂 but validation never hurt anyone! Love coming to your site for quick weeknight meal ideas!
Hi Elisha, yes that will be find here! N x