Vegan Coconut Curry with Chickpeas and Cauliflower

An easy vegan coconut curry recipe that is packed with flavor and ready in 45 minutes. Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner!

I realized after posting my last recipe that I forgot to do my favorite blogging tradition: sharing my 2016 Kitchen Resolutions! So I'm going to share them with you today!

• Get Kai to help! OK, he's only two, but we have started a fun tradition of baking something super simple on the week-ends. We just baked up these muffins. He's great at pouring the measured ingredients into the bowl, and he's getting there with his stirring. And most importantly, it's FUN for both of us!
• More slow cooker recipes. Honestly I was trying to get some slow cooker recipes up on the blog in the fall, but they just didn't quite get photographed. Check back for a brand new slow cooker recipe on Monday!!
• Videos! I am excited to start shooting some super simple videos to share with you all! I will keep you posted on this one 😉
• Last, but not least: Have more fun!  More kitchen singing, more kitchen dancing, more kitchen fun and less seriousness. This is very important for me. 2015 was a very serious year and 2016 is going to be all about FUN!

But onto the recipe above! It is a bit of a cold, dark and sort of depressing week, what with everyone heading back to work after the holidays and all. And my cure for the January blues is bright, colorful and exotic food! Vegan coconut curry!

Well here I am...Saturday, posting the recipe that I had intended for 30 minute Thursday.

Here's the truth:  we have been eating vegan coconut curry a lot here this week. 4 batches to be exact.

You guys KNOW that I will never ever share a recipe with you that I don't love and maybe wouldn't make again, and this one took me a few attempts of playing around with the spices and ratios. But I finally have a version that I am happy with and it's so good that I would happily make a 5th batch of it right now (although Ben would probably kill me)!

Also the truth: it didn't quite make the 30 minute mark. But I'm 99.99999% sure that it's because I put way too many veggies in there (couldn't help myself). That meant it took extra time to cook those veggies, and I'm betting that if you took a few out you could whip this one up in 30 minutes or less (instructions are in the recipe note).

OK, well here's the basics of this recipe: the sauce base is grated onions (I prefer the texture to chopped), sauteed with some brown sugar in olive oil (authentic curry? NOPE. This a 'Denise' curry!). Then you add some spices, garlic and ginger, and toast everything for another minute or two.

Add the coconut milk, then add the veggies you'd like! For a veggie-packed version, I added 4 cups of cauliflower and 2 bell peppers. For a soupier version, leave out a few cups of cauliflower. It will still be great!

At the very end of cooking, I added the chickpeas, a squeeze of lime, and more salt to taste. It is a wonderful, balanced curry. Sweet/salty/a bit sour, it's all there. This vegan coconut curry is NOT spicy. If you'd like spice, you could add ¼ teaspoon of cayenne to the spice mix and see how it tastes. Add more for a spicier curry.

And there you have it! Complex flavors but not complex to make.

Have a wonderful week-end! And tell me your kitchen resolutions in the comments below 😉

Did you make this? Tag me on social @sweetpeasandsaffron and be sure to leave a comment and rate the recipe!

Vegan Coconut Curry with Chickpeas and Cauliflower

5 from 2 votes

Prep Time: 10 mins

Cook Time: 35 mins

Total Time: 45 mins

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An easy vegan coconut curry recipe that is packed with flavor and ready in 45 minutes.  Perfect for a busy weeknight dinner!

4 -6

Ingredients

• ▢ 1 tablespoon olive oil
• ▢ 1 medium yellow onion grated (on a box grater)
• ▢ 1 tablespoon brown sugar
• ▢ 2 teaspoons curry powder
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• ▢ ½ teaspoon garam masala
• ▢ ½ teaspoon salt
• ▢ ¼ teaspoon black pepper
• ▢ 2 cloves garlic minced
• ▢ 1 teaspoon ginger minced
• ▢ 1 can coconut milk 13.5 oz/400mL
• ▢ 4 cups cauliflower florets
• ▢ 2 bell peppers sliced
• ▢ 1 can chickpeas drained and rinsed
• ▢ Juice from ½ a lime
• ▢ Salt to taste

Instructions 

• In a medium (3qt) pot, heat olive oil over medium heat.
• Add the onion and brown sugar, and cook, stirring frequently for around 5 minutes, until it is lightly browned.
• While cooking the onion, mix together the spices in a small bowl. After the onion is cooked, add the spices, garlic and ginger, and cook for another 1-2 minutes, until everything is fragrant but not burned. It may form a 'paste', and that's OK.
• Add the coconut milk, scraping up anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pan.
• Add the vegetables to the pan, stirring to coat. Cover and cook, stirring occasionally, for 20-25 more minutes (depending on how many veggies you add, cook time may vary).
• Add the chickpeas, a squeeze of lime, and salt to taste. I needed to add another ½ teaspoon of salt.
• Serve over rice or with naan bread.

Tips:

For a 'soupier' curry, leave out 2 cups of cauliflower. Cook time may be less, and this should serve 4 people.

This curry is not spicy. To add spice, start with ¼ teaspoon cayenne to the spice mix and add more to taste!

Nutrition Information

Serving: 1/6 batch, Calories: 218kcal, Carbohydrates: 25g, Protein: 5g, Fat: 12g, Saturated Fat: 8g, Sodium: 190mg, Fiber: 6g, Sugar: 6g

Author: Denise Bustard

Course: Dinner

Cuisine: Indian

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