Chickpea Coconut Curry Recipe and a walk down memory lane.

My husband and I are absolutely bonkers about curry. Ok, I might have it worse than he does, I’m a real addict. I feel like a week without curry, at least once, is incomplete. I just love it, how warming it is and all of the magical memories that it holds from our travels around the globe. It especially takes me back to our very special time spent in India and Nepal. India holds a very precious place in my heart. In no other place that I have been, have I seen such a magnificent dance between chaos and love. I’ve never breathed in two completely opposing smells in the same inhale. In one nostril, incense and in the other sewage ha ha. There really is nowhere like it and it woke me up to the beauty of contrast and how duality can work and flow without judgement and in harmony. We spent some time in the Himalayan mountains in India and even more so Nepal. We hiked a lot and ate fresh curry made from ingredients just pulled from the garden - there is no food fresher on Earth than at a tea house high in the Himalayas in Nepal. Meals take over two hours to arrive on your plate after ordering but I assure you that it is absolutely worth the wait!

Here I am enjoying a Nepalese curry during our 30 day trek of the Annapurnas.

My husband also proposed to me up high in the Himalayas on a trek in Nepal around the Annapurna circuit as we made fresh tracks in the snow. The views that day were the most incredible that I have seen to this day (aside from watching my son grow). The way that the air smelled way up high in the mountains is etched deeply into my soul. There is an odd time here in Canada, in the fall and winter where that scent comes rushing back into my being and takes me straight back to the mountains. Right back to the feelings of awe and peace and the absolute profundity of the moment, of being in it and of being alive and of being in love. For me, a good curry dish wraps all of that up in a warm little belly hug that envelops me in its spicy aroma and reminds me that life and love and being is so much bigger than we remember sometimes….

Me, at the top of the world….just engaged and this vast beauty sprawled out in front of us.

Here is one of my many curry recipes, don’t the colours just warm your heart??

Scroll down for the complete recipe.

This recipe is honestly so dynamic - the ingredients that I have listed are plant based and vegan but you can add whatever you want! Use bone broth or swap out the chickpeas for chicken…you really cannot go wrong when it comes to curry!

So, without further ado….here is the recipe….

Chickpea Coconut Curry

• 1/2 Tbsp ghee or coconut oil

• 1 tsp whole cumin 

• 1 large onion, diced

• 3 cloves of garlic chopped

• 8 mushrooms chopped small 

• 2 tomatoes diced

• 2 large carrots diced

• 1/2 head of cauliflower cut into small flowerettes

• 1/4 head of cabbage chopped

• 1/2 cup of broth

• 1 can of chickpeas

• 1 inch of fresh ginger finely grated or chopped

• 1/2 inch of fresh turmeric finely grated or chopped

• 1 - 1.5 Tbsp curry powder

• 3/4 Tbsp garam masala

• 1 can of coconut milk

• 1-2 tbsp coconut flour

• Salt and pepper to taste

Optional:

Massive handful of roughly chopped spinach

Avocado slice

Red onion

Arugula 

Directions:

Sauté whole cumin seeds in ghee or coconut oil until popping.  Add onions and let brown, add garlic and mushrooms and chopped tomatoes let cook about 5 mins.  Add carrots, cauliflower and chickpeas, curry powder, garam masala, fresh ginger and turmeric and broth in order to cook down the veggies until soft.  Once veggies are soft, add coconut milk, salt, pepper and coconut flour to thicken.  Adjust to taste. Simmer a couple of minutes.

Optional* - add spinach at the end and allow to wilt.

Serve over brown/whole grain rice with a side of avocado, chopped red onion and arugula or whatever floats your boat.  YUM!