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Zucchini curry with chickpeas
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4.56 from 74 votes

Zucchini Curry with Chickpeas

Zucchini curry with chickpeas makes a great, super-flavorful, easy weeknight meal. Packed with cozy, Indian-inspired flavors, it's healthy comfort food at its finest. Enjoy it right away or make it ahead.
Prep Time15 minutes
Cook Time30 minutes
Total Time45 minutes
Course: Stews
Cuisine: American
Keyword: vegan zucchini and chickpea curry, vegan zucchini curry, zucchini and chickpea curry, zucchini curry, zucchini curry with chickpeas
Calories: 236kcal
Author: Carolyn Gratzer Cope

Ingredients

  • 2 tablespoons safflower oil
  • 1 medium yellow onion diced
  • 1- inch piece fresh ginger peeled and minced
  • 2 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 small jalapeño diced, or ⅛ teaspoon ground cayenne pepper
  • 1 teaspoon black mustard seeds
  • 1 teaspoon ground cumin
  • 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
  • 1 teaspoon ground coriander
  • ½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
  • 1 15- ounce can diced tomatoes and their juices
  • 1 cup (237 ml) canned coconut milk
  • 1 teaspoon fine sea salt
  • ¼ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
  • 1 15.5- ounce 439 gram can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
  • 5 small to medium zucchini about 2 pounds/907 grams, diced
  • Large handful fresh cilantro leaves roughly chopped

Instructions

  • Heat the oil for a minute over medium heat in 12-inch lidded frying pan or medium pot. Add the onion and cook, stirring occasionally, until translucent, about five minutes.
  • Add the ginger, garlic, jalapeño or cayenne, mustard seed, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and cinnamon and cook, stirring constantly, for one minute.
  • Add the tomatoes, coconut milk, salt, and pepper and stir well. Raise the heat to high to bring to a boil, then reduce to a brisk simmer.
  • Stir in the chickpeas and zucchini and simmer for about 20 minutes, until zucchini is tender but not falling apart.
  • Remove from heat and stir in cilantro. Serve with basmati rice.

Notes

  1. Safflower oil is my high-heat, neutral-tasting vegetable oil of choice. You can substitute canola, peanut, sunflower, vegetable oil blend, or any other oil with similar characteristics.
  2. I sometimes use a large shallot instead of the onion (as you can see in the video and process photos). Feel free to do the same if you like.
  3. Use black (sometimes called brown) mustard seed, which is different from yellow mustard.
  4. Canned chickpeas make this dish quick and easy, and they work great here. You can cook your own chickpeas from dried, of course, if you like. One can yields about 3 ½ cups of cooked chickpeas.
  5. If you'd prefer to omit the chickpeas and serve this as a side dish, you don't need to make any other changes to the recipe.
  6. If you are not concerned with making this dish vegan and would like to change things up a bit, you can use ghee instead of the safflower oil and ½ cup heavy cream instead of the coconut milk. It's great both ways.
  7. This curry tastes good right away but actually improves as the flavors mingle. It's a great make-ahead dish. Leftovers keep well, tightly sealed in the fridge, for up to a week.
I originally published this recipe in 2015. I've updated the post and clarified the instructions, but the recipe remains the same.

Nutrition

Calories: 236kcal | Carbohydrates: 19.5g | Protein: 6.2g | Fat: 16.2g | Fiber: 6.4g