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)
Favorite among family each time I make it
Made this recipe today and wowza! It’s absolutely delicious!! Many recipes of Nagi’s that I’ve made are all excellent and soo yummie 😉….. I appreciate her videos and the notes at thee d of every recipe! Nagi, you and Dozer are quite the culinary team!
Hi Nagi, tomato allergy here 👋 do you have any substitute recommendations for the crushed tomatoes?
Not for this one sorry – it’s the base of the curry unfortunately! N x
Made it for my boys and extended family. Easy and delicious – thank you so much Nagi for the constant new winner dinners!
Made this for my Aunt and Grandpa today for lunch and they loved it 😁 thanks
This was really good! And bonus point: I was able to use a large can of black-eyed peas that I’ve had around since last year.
Thank you for the recipe.
Perfect J-Mom! N x
This was easy and yummy. It’s a bit mild for my taste, as I prefer Thai and Indian curries which have more flavors going on. But this was still delicious. I had it with the flatbread from your site. Thanks for sharing, Nagi 🙂
Hi Sabrina, yes this has a more gentle taste than the big punchy Thai curries, you can always up the spice level though if you prefer 🙂 N x
So easy and it was delicious. I didn’t change a thing.
I’m so glad you enjoyed it Sharon! N x
Delicious–made dish twice. I’d like to double this recipe; should I x2 ingredients but I want to ensure the balance is correct. Thanks!!
Hi Cassandra, you can adjust the serving size on the recipe and all the ingredients will adjust for you. N x
You come up with some amazing recipes. And your Dozer is so adorable.
Thanks so much Naznin! N x
my family absolutely love this recipe. It’s become a weekly favourite.
That’s awesome Ada! N x
I was really surprised with this recipe. I don’t like chickpeas, at all, but this recipe was just so fantastic. Wow how good! Also tried the fish stew version, and I finally found a fish stew that is incredible!
Thank you for your recipes, been cooking quite a few now and always taste amazing!
You’re converted now Malin! N x
Loved this! So easy to make and tasted amazing! Thanks again for another wonderful recipe Nagi 🙂
This was amazing! I enjoyed every single bite. Thank you.
You’re so welcome Mariam! N x
Absolutely delicious! I’ve made it twice in two weeks, we loved it so much! I used carrots instead of bell pepper and beet greens instead of spinach-fabulous! Thank you for this recipe! 😀
This was one of the best things I’ve ever made. It was sublime! At first I thought the ingredients were weird but nah.. loved it and it looks great too!
Delicious! I’m not a big fan of cooked spinach so I used zucchini instead. It turned out great, would definitely make this again!
I’m so glad you loved it Lauren!! N x
I made this yesterday and it’s fantastic! Such a simple recipe and very tasty – plus, easy to make (or sub) with ingredients that aren’t hard to get during lockdown here in London! I didn’t add the stock as it was saucy enough for us without. I’ve made your fish version of this before and that’s also fab – I’ll be making that as soon as I can get hold of some fish again! Thank you 🙂
Made this curry recipe but there was no curry called for in the recipe so I added a teaspoon. I didn’t think it would really be a curry without it. So yummy 😋 will make again for sure.
Hi Helene, it doesn’t actually require curry powder to become a “curry” – but you could definitely add it if you like 🙂 N X
Made this tonight and threw In a bit of chicken that was waiting to get used up- it was so delicious!
Just made this for dinner but halved the recipe b/c it’s just me at home. Absolutely delicious! Just like EVERY.SINGLE.RECIPE. you post. <3