Coconut Red Curry with Chickpeas

I had a Thai chickpea curry at a NYC cafe for brunch recently and had to try and duplicate it, and found this recipe. While it’s not at all like what I had that prompted me to want to make it, it’s REALLY delicious! I tweaked it a little bit, added a little chicken broth and a little more Thai paste, some bay leaf, sort of eyeballed all the vegetable and chickpea portions. Kept the heat (spice) low so that it was subtle (I just put in a whole Thai red chili, uncut, so as to easily identify it), and gave some to my 91-year old foodie mother, and she loved it as well! A winner and definite keeper for future dishes to grace our table!

Great taste, but spicy as hell…. and I’m from Louisiana….. love heat. Husband couldn’t eat this.

One of my favorite recipes! I make this for friends and family frequently and it’s always a crowd pleaser. One pot and so easy. I love how versatile it is, I’ve never made it the same twice as I always switch up the veggies depending on what I have on hand.

I have been experimenting with various curry recipes lately and this is one of my favourites! I did not have fresh ginger so I used 1/2 tsp ground ginger. I did not have bamboo, but used 2 fresh lemongrass stalks that I had on hand. For the sauce, I used one full fat cat of coconut sauce and 1 cup of chicken broth. I used olive oil instead of coconut oil. I did not have red pepper or eggplant so I subbed with thawed frozen cauliflower florets and thawed frozen butternut squash cubes. I also precooked 2 cubed potatoes and 3 chicken thighs (cut into small pieces) and threw them in when I added the peas. So yummy! Thanks for sharing this recipe.

Yum! Only used 1 can of coconut milk, and 2 cups of veg stock cuz I wanted it a little saucy to pour over rice noodles. Used matchstick red pepper, zucchini and carrots, with the chick peas; but added the red peppers in at the end with the green peas. After the vegetarian kid took hers, I dumped a bunch of cooked shredded chicken in for the rest of us. The spice was perfect! Kid asked me to put some cherry tomatos in next time. Thanks for a great dinner!

Made this for dinner today and it was delicious. The kids enjoyed it too! We didn’t have bamboo shoots, but I had lots of carrots, so I just julienned the carrots instead of using the bamboo shoots. It was a bit sweet for me, so next time, I might reduce the amount of coconut sugar. I wonder if it was sweeter because of the carrots.

I have made this recipe 4 or 5 times in different iterations. I love using eggplant or another absorbent squash-y vegetable (like summer squash), but I’ve also used broccoli, carrot, and frozen spinach, and it all was wonderful. Adding a ton of spinach is my fav variation, makes a sort of Chana Saag-esque dish and really packs in those healthy greens! It’s a perfect healthy, hearty, vegan, comforting meal for whatever produce in the fridge might be a little past its prime. Other substitutions I’ve had to make upon realizing I’d started cooking without having all my ingredients include: kidney beans for chickpeas (not as good), yellow curry paste for red, garlic powder for garlic cloves, 1/2 yellow onion for shallot, and regular coconut milk for light. All were amazing. Truly you can’t go wrong.

One tip that I never seem to remember is to chop all the aromatics and veggies, and drain/rinse the chickpeas, before you start to heat the oil! It makes everything much easier; things come together very quickly once the oil is hot! Overall amazing recipe for vegans and vegetarians, always a hit and I crave it constantly.

This was definitely a 5 /5 rating. My husband was drooling for more which is always a good sign. I didn’t have any bamboo shoots so I used water chestnuts instead, which turned out to be a great substitute and then instead of peas, I used baby bok choy which was another great substitute. The prep took more than five minutes, I don’t know how anyone could do the chopping of veggies, mincing of garlic, ginger and shallots in just five minutes, I’d say more like 15 minutes if you’re speedy. Overall, the flavours, textures and aromas were amazing! This, for my family, is definitely a keeper.

A delicious recipe that’s in my regular rotation!

For today’s rendition: I couldn’t find bamboo shoots in my local grocery store. I added lemongrass, omitted the coconut sugar, doubled the chickpeas, subbed frozen kale for the peas (that’s all I had), and added some cilantro and basil at the end, plus more for serving as advised. I love that this red curry is easy to adapt as needed.

This was great. I didn’t have all the veggies called for in the recipe, but it was fantastic inspiration and guidance for currying up what I had in the fridge. For example I used cauliflower florets and sliced carrots instead of bamboo and eggplant. It was lovely, and the jar I gave away got good reviews and a request for the recipe link. A squeeze of lemon (lime might’ve been nicer, but I had none) at the end helped the flavour pop even more! Many thanks!!

This was great and super easy. Subbed in some fried tofu for the chickpeas and used the veggies I had on hand instead of the ones listed, and it turned out really well! Will definitely make this again!

My girlfriend and I just made this curry and absolutely loved it! She’s a vegetarian and I’m somewhat new to the idea of cooking without meat, so we’ve been trying out heaps of recipes for ideas.
We’re kickers for spice and wanted to use whole coconut milk, so added a whole jar of curry paste and then . We used fresh ginger and basil home-grown from our garden, and substituted the eggplant for green beans. Chopped up some fresh chili and served with extra basil and chives.

Amazing! Will definitely try more of your recipes! <3

Loved this curry. The spice and contrasts in flavors was perfect. My husband even liked it. I don’t get that too often.

Love this recipe so much! It’s so delicious. The only changes I make are, instead of eggplant, I use a mixture of baby potatoes and zucchini. :) Perfect taste!

Yum! My omni partner and vegan self both love this recipe! The first time I cooked it, I found that the eggplant was not as thoroughly cooked as I prefer, so I added it a few steps earlier in the recipe and and sautéed it with the shallot, garlic, and ginger. It absorbed a lot more flavor, and came out perfect!
Thanks for sharing so many amazing curry ideas!

Made this recipe last night and it was incredible!! The flavors are amazing, and it’s so easy to make. Well done!!!

Excellent flavor, easy and quick! I was surprised at howc the eggplant worked. Very adaptable, too — added spinach and cubed butternut squash the 2nd time and served over quinoa with plain yogurt. Yum!

Delicious!

Delicious!!

This was delicious! I used zucchini instead of eggplant and served it with cauliflower rice. I didn’t add any sugar because I don’t have a sweet tooth. I added some tamari because I have an umami tooth! It was filling and rich, yet light at the same time.

I will definitely be making this again. I made it tonight for my family and it was a hit. I didn’t use the bamboo shoots or peas, but added spinach at the end. I sweated the eggplant and it was perfect. Such a cozy meal, perfect for a chilly night. Thank you!

I have just managed to use up 2.5kg of soaked chickpeas in one night! This recipe was just what I was looking for after I’d made falafel and hommus. This is rich, spicy and feels so healthy when eating it! I’m so happy I tried this version of a chickpea curry for my first go at a vegan curry! The only substitute I did was spinach instead of the green beans and I added a small diced sweet potato. The egg plant was wonderful too, I was a little skeptical at first. Thanks Dana, I look forward to trying more of Minimalist Baker recipes soon! ?
Kind Regards,
Erica

I made this but changed quite a lot as I love curries … It turned out wonderfully though. I replaced the onion with 150g celery. I only used 200ml coconut milk, but I added 500 ml vegetable stock. I left out the sugar, the oil, the bamboo and the tumeric; I added 1 tablespoon of cumin seeds – spluttered in and added 1 tablespoon coriander powder. Yeah, so same same but different. Turned out to be SUPER DELISH and a new fave. I am going to add roasted pumpkin next time for a kick, I feel it would have gone well with the flavours. I made this with the left over eggplant from the Moroccan lentil stuffed eggplant and the two dishes contrast really nicely.

I had a garden full of eggplant, love curry, and can usually pull off nearly any recipe by Minimalist Baker. This was yet another super easy and delicious no-brainer. Fantastic, yum, and thanks! I just used what I had, which was half a red onion, two cups of cups eggplant and no bamboo, and a can of regular coconut milk plus one can water, and white sugar.

This was really good! I added 1 and 1/3 cup of peas as well as 3 cups of spinach for 2 servings and also threw in some cumin and garam masala. It was a bit too sweet even after I reduced the sugar by 2/3s, but still totally yummy!

Great recipe! I did add 1 chopped carrot. Next time I’ll omit the eggplant (I only like eggplant fried and pureed apparently LOL) and half the amount of coconut milk so the dish is thicker! Gratitude ?

I was not even feeling like eating curry but somehow got pulled into the recipe and now its a lovely pot of bubbling spicy coconut-ty goodness. Did make a very unique adjustment – because I had coconut oil but no coconut milk (we don’t really use it) – I added what I could of the oil. Then, to get the creaminess, I blended oats into a powder, made into a paste with water and stirred it in. It adds some rich thickness that would have came from the milk, without the extra fat. That said, there’s plenty of good fats in the dish I’ve made, to go round. Thanks for the idea for dinner!

This is fabulous!!! I used one can of coconut milk because I wasn’t paying attention. Had no eggplant, but lots of mushrooms took its place. I also added a few small potatoes (the guys in the house will eat it if there are potatoes in it). I am honestly not a huge potato fan at all…but the potatoes in this were phenomenal. Over rice the spice level was perfection. Can’t wait to make this for the rest of my family! BTW, I have to compliment you on your site…everything I have made from your site has been so delicious and deeply appeals to my practical nature. I feel like I actually CAN go vegan when I use your recipes…what I adore is that no one in the family knows its vegan except me! :-)

This is so good. I love it and will make it again. I subbed potatoes for the eggplant, since I didn’t have any. Otherwise, I followed your recipe to the T! You are awesome.

Absolutely delicious, quick and easy to follow recipe! I also added some frozen leaf spinach and it added lovely colour, and of course extra nutrients.

This was great! I only used one can of coconut milk and I’m not vegan so I added fish sauce for flavor. I also added two tomatoes and only 1 tbsp of sugar. It wasn’t spicy at all so I added red chili flakes as well. I’m eating it with quinoa and my bf will eat it with a side of spinach because he’s doing low carb. Thanks so much for this great recipe!

what a great recipe. so tasty and creamy and delicious. I used just 3 tablespoons of coconut sugar and found it perfect. Thanks so much for sharing.

I made this last night and I was really excited because I’ve made recipes from your site before and they usually are pretty spot-on. I will say that I thought the bamboo-shoots overpowered the recipe. Maybe it was the brand I bought (I did rinse/drain them), but it put off a bad smell and taste that I assumed would cook out in the recipe (but unfortunately it didn’t). I think also it’s important to only stick to veggies you like because this made a lot of food and cost a decent amount for ingredients and I won’t be eating the rest. So basically my advice to those wanting to make this is to stick to vegetables you really like and skip ones your not sure of since this recipe makes a lot. I still love your site just wanted to help out the next person.

Just made this for dinner and the flavour balance is on point! Love it! Spicy, sweet creamy … and loaded with veggies! It’s heaven!
Added spinach and snow peas to the mix :)
Thanks for another fabulous recipe Minimalist Baker!

This is delicious and easy – but red curry is a Thai dish, not Indian. Even the names of your favourite curry pastes identify that

This recipe was an amazing inspiration! I detest ginger so I started off sautéing onion and garlic and then added Penzey’s The Now Curry powder and then vegan red curry paste. Added coconut milk and maple sugar because I don’t have coconut sugar. Then I added chickpeas, green peas, a diced potato and some raw cashews. Also baked some tofu with coconut oil and the same curry powder until it was crispy. Served over quinoa and mixed it all together. It was amazing and there’s enough for leftovers!

Topping this with basil really made all the flavours in this recipe pop. This recipe was so easy and delicious. I recommend it! :)

Oh this is a winner! Loved the added turmeric. This has such a great base start , I played around a bit and possibilities are endless . I used 3 T chili paste ( as stated), and one jalepeno, no bamboo shoots , but used twice as much eggplant , added handful of mushrooms, about -one cup of winter squash ( leftover), and the next night a small cooked and cut up sweet potato to the left overs. My daughter wanted recipe and we just couldn’t stop commenting about this one. Thank you , Thank you!!

I liked a lot of things about this recipe. The bamboo shoots, chickpeas and peas all tasted amazing together. But I found it to be missing that umami that Thai curries are known for. Of course, most of the time that’s from a fish-based paste (fish sauce or shrimp paste) but I added some soy sauce after I was finished cooking because it needed that oomph. I’d recommend adding soy sauce to the recipe. In addition, I ended up adding about an extra 1 tbsp of curry paste. I also felt that the amount of sugar and coconut milk were too sweet. Next time I would probably decrease the amount of coconut milk and replace it with salty vegetable broth, and start with a few tsps of sugar at a time.

Love this recipe, make it all the time when I have last minute guests for dinner and want something easy and flavorful. Hard to find bamboo where I live so I’ve been using chestnuts instead and love them in this dish. Thanks for another great recipe Dana!

I normally make a quick Thai curry with paste, veggies and coconut milk. That’s it. It tastes fine, but not spectacular.

So a few days ago, I decided to try this recipe. It requires a bit more love and attention than my usual method, which is a challenge with my demanding toddler. But it was so worth it – the extra garlic and ginger really lifted the flavour, so it tasted like the nice curries you get at restaurants, not the ‘meh’ curry I normally dish up.

This recipe will become a staple in my household.

PS. I don’t care for bamboo shoots, so I left them out and used a whole eggplant instead. And I used normal raw sugar instead of coconut sugar. Coz budget. :D

Just made this, added peas, cauliflower and firm tofu,one of the best curries I have ever made! I have gone to 3 classes on how to cook curry and they didn’t compare to this!!!

Dana, it´s delicious. I just made it for dinner tonight and my husband loved it!! 5 Stars. Related to the comment above about the coconut sugar, we didn´t have any here in Barcelona either, so I just added a carrot to the sauté to sweeten the pot. Thanks again. Love your recipes!

wow, this was SPICY!! and SO good! for some reason mine didn’t look as appealing as yours, but stil really tasty (loved it with brown rice)

Hi,

Is it suppose to be like a soup because it’s not thick at all??