Roasted Pumpkin Chickpea Curry
Curry is food for gods. Once upon a time, I was one of those crazy people who didn’t like curry. Since my taste buds used to think that spearmint toothpaste was spicy, you can probably understand why. Before the days of The Hungry Herbivores, I used to miss out on the ongoing Silvester-Newton Saturday curry night, due to my pathetic spice tolerance. After years eating my chicken nuggets and chips, while the rest tucked into a Balti, i managed to be persuaded into eating Kormas once a week. It was a challenge! Luckily, my spice threshold challenges the rest of the chilli loving family. I have since realised what I was missing out on and filled my diet with plenty of curries to make up for it. Don’t let that be you! Embrace the curry.. Roasted Pumpkin Chickpea Curry is a great place to start (or continue.)
I can’t believe I have never shared a curry recipe with The Hungry Herbivores before, considering my passion for the Indian cuisine. Closest I’ve come to publishing a curry is my delectable Coconut Dhal. This Chickpea Curry isn’t a traditional Indian recipe, but takes spicy inspiration from the flavoursome cuisine. To make thick creamy curries, ordinarily would involve double cream and other non-vegan, super unhealthy ingredients. You’ll be glad to know that this sauce is made luxuriously creamy purely from plants, meaning it is also much healthier than your everyday curry. It is made simply by roasting a pumpkin, removing its soft flesh and blending it with almond milk, vegan yogurt and aromatic spices. No spice grinding, no extensive lists of ingredients – so simple!
Not only is the sauce 10/10, but you just can’t beat chickpeas. I use chickpeas in everything I can. Chickpea curries are gorgeous and have very fond memories of them in Nepal – one of the only meals that I actually enjoyed during my 3 month village stay.. Yep. Nostalgia has brought me to crafting a Chickpea Curry to feast on again! The other good thing about using these bad boys – you don’t have to chop anything up!! No-fuss, simple dinner!
Do you fancy a delicious, healthy plant-based dinner for you and your family of friends? This impressive main will surprise even yourself with your wonderful cooking, guided just a little bit by The Hungry Herbivores. Try out the recipe and let me know what you thought in the comments!
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- 2 tins chickpeas, drained
- 2 large white onions, diced
- 1 red chilli, finely chopped
- 4 garlic cloves, finely chopped
- 2" ginger, minced
- 1 small pumpkin
- 1½ cups almond milk
- ½ cup non-dairy yoghurt
- 1½ garam masala
- ¼ tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp smoked paprika
- 1 tsp tamarind paste (or other liquid sweetener)
- 1 tsp pink himalyan salt
- 1 tsp black pepper
- First, pre heat your oven to 400F/200C/Gas Mark 6.
- Slice your pumpkin into quarters, remove the seeds (you can use these for Roasted Pumpkin Seeds.) Bush the flesh with olive oil and place skin up on a baking tray and cook for 45-50 minutes or until soft and tender.
- Scoop out the flesh into a blender and add the almond milk, yoghurt, garam masala, turmeric, smoked paprika, tamarind paste, salt, pepper and blend on high until smooth.
- In a large saucepan or heavy bottomed pot, add a good drizzle of olive oil and fry the onions for about 4-5 minutes on med-high.
- Add the chilli, ginger and garlic, stir and continue to fry for 1 minute.
- Add the chickpeas, stir to combine, then add the sauce.
- Heat the sauce and let bubble on med-low heat with a lid on (to avoid splattering) for 5-10 minutes.
- Serve with Basmati Wholegrain Rice or Vegan Flatbreads