Shrimp and Coconut Chickpea Curry
A can of chickpeas, coconut milk, and onions always has a place in my pantry. Shrimp or chicken might as well live in my freezer, for the simple reason that they don’t require long cooking. It’s a perfect combination when you need to get something together that’s tasty and quick. If you’re a vegetarian, simply omit the chicken or shrimp and double the amount of chickpeas.
Ingredients
- 4 Tbsp vegetable oil
- 1 large onion, roughly chopped
- 1 can 16 oz (400g) chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 large garlic cloves, finely minced
- 1 two piece fresh ginger, finely minced
- 1 medium sweet potato, about 2 cups (170g) chopped into 1 inch (2.5 cm) pieces
- 2 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp red pepper flakes
- 14 oz (400 ml) full fat coconut milk
- 2 cups (500 ml) vegetable stock
- 2 cups (about 156 g) Baby bok choy, tops and stalks roughly chopped and separated
- 1 lb (450 g)(about 16-20 large shrimps), peeled and deveined
- 1/2 cup (14 g) fresh cilantro or Italian parsley, finely chopped
- salt and freshly pepper to taste
- Juice of 1 lime + extra lime wedges to serve
Preparation
Heat the vegetable oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Add the onion. Cook stirring until the onion starts browning, about 5 minutes. Add the chickpeas and cook for about 5 minutes longer or until chickpeas start to crisp and brown. Reserve 1 /2 cup of the crisped chickpeas for garnish. Add garlic, ginger, turmeric, red pepper flakes and cook 1-2 minutes longer. Add the sweet potato and cook it until it starts browning on the edges, about 5 minutes. Season with salt and pepper.
Add the coconut milk and vegetable stock to the chickpeas and sweet potatoes in the saucepan. Bring to a swimmer. Scrape any chickpea bits from the bottom of the saucepan. Cook until sweet potato is soft the stew has reached a consistency of your liking. Add the bok choy stalks and cook for 3 minutes longer. Add the shrimps and bok choy tops and cook until shrimps just turn pink and bok choy tops just wilted, 2-3 minutes. Add lime juice and taste for seasonings.
Divide curry into bowls and top it with the reserved chickpeas cilantro or parsley. Serve lime wedges on the side.
Notes
Curry leaves: fresh are the real flavor here — Indian grocers carry them, and they freeze well. If using dried, double the amount and add them with the mustard seeds so they have more time to release flavor.
Shrimp size: large or extra-large hold up better than small shrimp, which overcook fast in the hot sauce.
Heat level: the dried chilies and Kashmiri chili powder together are mild. For more heat, add a slit green chili with the onion.
Leftovers: keep 2 days refrigerated. The shrimp toughen on reheating, so warm gently over low heat rather than in the microwave on high.
Vegetarian version: omit the shrimp and use two cans of chickpeas instead of one.
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