Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry

4.79 from 46 votes

Chickpea and Butternut Squash Curry

This wholesome chickpea curry with loads of vegetables like hearty butternut squash, spinach and green peas simmered in creamy coconut milk will become your favourite if you give it a try.

Prep Time15

Cook Time40

Total Time55

Course: Main

Cuisine: Indian

Keyword: chickpea and butternut squash curry, chickpea curry,, vegan curry, vegetarian korma

Servings: -8

Author: Julia Frey of Vikalinka

Ingredients

1 tbsp vegetable oil
2 onions medium, chopped
3-4 cloves garlic minced
25g / 1/2 cup cilantro/fresh coriander chopped (stalks and leaves separated, stalks reserved)
600g / 4 cups butternut squash peeled and cubed, (1 medium)
240g / 1½ cups canned chickpeas
2 tbsp This is an affiliate link.Patak's Korma Paste or any other curry paste; not cooking sauce
400g / 1½ cups This is an affiliate link.coconut milk
250ml / 1 cup water
100g / 3 cups spinach
75g / 1/2 cup frozen peas
2 tbsp desiccated unsweetened coconut optional
salt to taste

Instructions

Heat a tablespoon of oil in a large and deep pan and cook chopped onions, garlic and cilantro stalks over low heat for 10 minutes until soft and slightly coloured.
Meanwhile dice the peeled butternut squash to match the size of chickpeas. Once the onions are tender, add the curry paste and cook for a minute or so stirring the whole time, then add the squash, chickpeas, coconut milk, desiccated coconut, water and a pinch of salt, bring it to a boil by turning the heat up. Then turn the heat down to a low-medium and simmer it covered for 35-40 minutes. Stir it occasionally to prevent from burning and add a few splashes of water if it gets too dry.
Test the butternut squash, it should be fork tender by this point but not falling apart. Your curry should be thick, so if it's too runny, uncover and let the liquid cook down for a few more minutes. When you are satisfied with the consistency of the curry stir in peas, spinach and cilantro leaves, cover with a lid and take off the heat.
Serve with steaming hot basmati rice. We love having naan bread or chapattis and various Indian pickles and chutney with our curries. My children go crazy for crunchy poppadums!

Notes

Sweet potatoes can be used instead of butternut squash. They cook faster so you will need to add them to the curry a couple of minutes later than you would for squash.
Using a good quality curry paste means you don't need to have a long list of spices on hand. A brand such as Patak's has great taste and wide variety, and makes curries far less complicated to make.
If you do reach for a curry paste, make sure it's not a sauce! Paste and sauce are not interchangeable in this recipe. If you do buy a sauce, you will need to reduce the amount of liquid that is added. Also, Korma paste is vegan but the sauce is not.
Let's lean into finding shortcuts! Using a garlic paste and frozen spinach are fantastic shortcuts that don't compromise on taste. I always have these - and ginger paste - ready to go in my kitchen.
I've tried to use light coconut milk in order to reduce the amount of calories in curries, but find that I miss too much of the texture and flavour that full-fat coconut milk gives. It is up to you, of course, but I don't find that the trade off is worth it!

Nutrition