This gentle curry is pure comfort! An amazing mix of spices simmered slowly come together to create a revelation of flavours in your mouth. I love a good korma base. Derived from the Turkish kavurma which quite literally means cooked meat, this meatless recipe is an ode to the fantastic mild creamy and beige sauce that is the recipe's trademark. The sauce is the star of a korma curry often made from cashew nuts, seeds and cream with a hint of sweetness to balance the spices. In this non-traditional recipe, coconut milk not only gives the curry a luxurious texture and flavour but also the beautiful toasted beige colour. This dish comes together within an hour. The pumpkin is always roasted separately and stirred through just before serving so it is nice and golden and tender but not mushy. Slivered nuts and chopped Tuscan kale adds texture.
The curry freezes well and tastes even better as leftovers on the next day. I find that assembling the ingredients in the 5 minutes prior to cooking actually makes this seem like a breeze. I often make the sauce in bulk and freeze it in two or four serving portions (a great Sunday project). Then I will bring it out on a night I can't be bothered to cook and simmer it with just some roast veggies or chicken or a combination of paneer and greens. This vegetarian (vegan if you skip the ghee and use coconut oil) curry is a welcome change from the usual curries you might have and is definitely a show stopper! If you cook this and share this online, don't forget to tag me/or #cookrepublic so I don't miss your post. x
Recipe
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CHICKPEA AND COCONUT KORMA CURRY WITH PUMPKIN
Ingredients
- 2 cups (300 g) pumpkin pieces
- 1 tablespoon olive oil
- salt and black pepper, to taste
- 1 tablespoon ghee or coconut oil
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 tablespoons grated ginger
- 2 tablespoons chopped coriander root
- 1 teaspoon fennel seeds
- 1/2 teaspoon ground cardamom
- 1 teaspoon ground cinnamon
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- 1 1/2 teaspoon sea salt flakes
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
- 1 tablespoon raw sugar
- 400 ml coconut milk
- 250 ml veg stock
- handful of Tuscan kale leaves, chopped
- 2 X 400g can chickpeas
- lime wedges, to serve
- slivered almonds, to serve
- fresh coriander leaves, to serve
- steamed rice, to serve
Instructions
- Pre-heat oven to 180°C. Line a baking sheet with baking paper. Place pumpkin pieces, olive oil, salt and pepper in a bowl. Toss to combine. Place pumpkin on prepared sheet and bake in pre-heated oven for approximately 15 minutes until pumpkin is just done. Remove from oven and set aside.
- Heat ghee/coconut oil in a large cast-iron pan on high. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, coriander root and fennel seeds. Sauté for a couple of minutes until onion becomes soft. Reduce heat to low. Add spices, salt and sugar. Cook for a few minutes, stirring constantly till the spices are cooked through. Add the coconut milk, veggie stock and chickpeas. Increase heat to medium and simmer for 20 minutes until curry turns a shade darker and becomes really fragrant.
- Remove from heat. Stir through the kale leaves and roast pumpkin pieces. Top with slivered almonds, coriander leaves and serve with lime wedges over rice.
Notes
Absolutely delicious!
Delicious curry, definitely going to be a go-to when in a hurry for something relatively quick and easy in our household. I would be tempted to double the recipe if a person's pan is big enough as the flavors the next day are even better. My five year old ate it without complaint (which surprised me, I thought the fennel seeds would be a cause for issue!). I would certainly make this for a shared meal/dinner party. It's nice to have some alternatives to meat which we love but are trying to reduce in our household (although I think this sauce would lend itself to some tender lamb or goat too!). Thank you for sharing such a scrumptious recipe, it's a winner here.
This is delicious! I roasted some acorn squash, but didn't end up using it, because the korma was so delicious on its own. The only modification I made was to reduce the cayenne to just under ¼ tsp, and it was still pretty spicy for my taste, but still amazing!
Oh wow, this looks amazing and perfect for fall. I am in love with your pan. Where can I find something like that? And do you cook in it or just serve in it? Thank you so much!
It is an old copper saucepan I found in a second hand store. I cook in it sometimes as it still has the tin lining. You could find similar ones on Etsy and Ebay. Williams Sonoma has new ones but they are very expensive. x
Just made this dish as my teenage daughter Vegan; Absolutely delicious! thanks so much-will be a definite addition to recipe collection.
I just made this pumpkin korma and it was delicious. The only change I made was to use bok choy instead of kale because I had bok choy on hand. The only change I would make in future would be to use less than 2 cans of chick peas (or add more liquid). Thanks for the recipe.
Just made it to take over to family dinner tomorrow night, the flavours should be amazing by then! Excited to show it off! Thank you x
This recipe is amazing. I love the flavours and how it's sweet. Thanks for the recipe.
Great recipe, very tastefull and quite easy to make on a week night. I did not have any pumpkin on hand so I used a butternut squash. Delicious! Thank you for sharing this great recipe!
Stumbled on this due to a newound enthusiasm in veggie curries and a little bit of time on my hands to indulge the passion. Every other mouthful had me mmming out loud and even my 7 year old daughter said it was ok which is high praise indeed! For sure will be exploring some other recipes on your site - cheers!
Hi,
this recepie looks absolutely amazing and I really want to try it :)) I just have one question regarding it, did you use full fat coconut milk ? Thank you very much for the answer !
Greetings from Sloveia,
Sandra
Hi Sandra! Yes, I used full fat coconut milk. x
Made this for dinner last night - OMG YUM! we absolutely loved it! Only change was I used spinach leaves instead of kale and added brocolli for some veggie crunch. This Korma's a keeper! thanks for a fantastic curry!
Makes me so happy to know. Thanks for your lovely comment and feedback Lea. Glad you enjoyed the recipe!
Made this dish for my partner and I. Really glad you explained what the coriander root was. The poor guy at the super market had no idea. (I kept scrolling after the grocery shop).
Delicious dish. Going to be a regular for us I think.
Thank you for such an amazing recipe!
Sneh this was so beautiful! Packed full of flavour and perfectly warming on a cold winter's day. I like that it lends itself to adding other things too - I roasted some cauliflower florets along with the pumkin and didn't have kale to hand so chucked in some baby spinach leaves right at the end. So good, thank you!
I know we're totally off on seasons, but I'm bookmarking this baby for when I'm craving something comforting and pumpkiny.
Hi Sneh, I would love you to stop by Food on Friday: Coconut over at Carole's Chatter to add this to the recipe collection! Cheers!
PS If you would like to be part of the Food on Friday group, just put a reminder in your calendar this time each week to check out the new theme or email me if you would like a reminder by email. You can also see the themes coming up in one of the tabs at the top of my home page
I made this last night and it is DELICIOUS! Added chicken legs because we had some to cook. The meat became incredibly tender in the coconut/stock sauce and so flavoursome. New fave!
This look delicious, Sneh! Your photos are beautiful (as always). 🙂
This recipe looks and sounds so delicious. And your photography.. takes my breath away!
These photos are so beautiful, Sneh! And the curry looks absolutely divine. So lovely, all of it 🙂
The kind of dish I could eat nearly every day. Delicious, wonderfully exotic and so satisfying!
Cheers,
Rosa
This looks delicious, Sneh! I'll have to give it a go, Jay.
This looks SO delicious!! I could go for a big bowl of that right now.
Right, I've decided that this is what we are having tomorrow night - can't wait! Wonder if the kids will like it - if not more for me! Thanks for sharing Sneh - it looks amazing though surely nothing can beat your other curry - that was just incredible! When's your new book out?
ha ha cheers Esther! The cayenne pepper has a kick. Rish food it spicy. Rivvy loved it 🙂 x
Yum - I can smell this already. I'm not overly familiar with curry ingredients. Can you explain the 'coriander root' part to me? Do I just buy coriander (the frost has killed mine) with the roots still attached? Thanks in advance 🙂
Jenna, exactly! (see picture where I have chopped the root and stalk). If you don't find the root, just use the stalks .. they are the main flavour ingredient here. Adding a note to the recipe now. x
Thanks, Sneh. I made this tonight and it was sensational!! Thank you! Added a head of broccoli florets which worked a treat as well. All the garnishes just make it, too x
hi Sneh,
This looks amazing. I'm allergic to chickpeas, what would you recommend substituting with.?
hugs.
Leecia, red kidney beans would work very well with the flavours here as a substitute. x