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)
We are trying to reduce our meat intake and this recipe is a great base for a veggie curry. We throw in cauli, carrots, green beans and broccoli and it turns out delish! I love that it can be served or cooked with fish or chicken if we please.
Ooh green beans sounds like an excellent addition!
Made this last night, was sooo good. I diced up some pumpkin and dusted it lightly with cumin before roasting it and I stirred this through with baby spinach leaves at the end. Loved it. Thank you.
Have made the fish version of this many times, but was blown away by how good it was made with Chickpeas.
YUM YUM YUM!! Made this for dinner tonight and we both enjoyed it a lot. We both went back for seconds. Super easy to make, likely to become a mid-week regular. Thanks for sharing Nagi x x
First time trying one of your recipes and the flavour were literally perfect. Wow! Looking forward to trying some more recipes soon 😊
best curry i think that i have made
WOOT! That’s great Patrick! N x
This dish is delicious.
Husband read the meal plan as Brazilian coconut “chicken” curry! He was a little disappointed there was no chicken, just chickpeas.
I might indulge him and add chicken next time.
Thank you
Unbelievably divine!!! Of course I add extra chillies to everything & I did have home made coconut milk in the fridge.
Your site is my go to for everything & anything I want to make or when I want to impress with my meals or baking. This recipe is surely the easiest and most convenient. Thanks again Nagi for sharing your fabulous meals.xxx
Amazing flavor!!! Will cook this weekly. Light and fresh tasting but very filling! Just try it!
Another solid recipe! The taste didn’t blow me away, but it’s still a good recipe that I enjoyed eating. The sauce didn’t thicken much for me (After a lot of simmering) so I made a cornstarch slurry and that thickened it right up!
About to make this recipe but wondering if the paprika is sweet paprika or smoked paprika?
Very very runny
Hi Emma, sounds like you needed to let it simmer slightly longer for it to thicken. N x
Was so yummy but a bit runny.
Another Nagi winner dinner for us. Perfect for our meat-free Mondays. It was a hit for the whole family. I love that you post the videos with the recipes too. Thanks 😊
This was truely delicious. Had no lime so used fresh lemon juice and it so good! Thankyou so much for sharing!
One of my favorite recipes of all times! I make it at least once every 2 weeks!
I love hearing this Cecilia, it’s so delicious isn’t it?!
This was so delish! I didn’t add the cayenne pepper and my 2 and 4 year olds both loved it (extra fun mixing in the yoghurt). Another winner!
That’s awesome Jacinta!! N x
This is one of my family favourites. The first time I made it I added some chicken because I didn’t think my adult kids would eat it without meat, however, the family resoundingly told me – no meat needed. It is so full of flavour. Freezes well… YUM!
Threw a dinner party last night and made this chickpea curry (despite my carnivore husband’s resistance) plus Nagi’s butter chicken and wow, both were absolutely amazing! My fussy friends, including my fussy carnivore hubby, were all praising both dishes and were asking for recipes. Will definitely make again!!
Wahoo!!! That’s greta Cecilia! N x
My husband and I love this recipe! Served it with grilled pineapple!! Excellent! Has anyone tried to freeze the leftovers? Just wondering if it will freeze well??
Hi Suzy – I talk about this in note 6 🙂 N x