Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry – A simple vegan curry that is packed with lots of your five-a-day and some fabulous spices, such a turmeric, ginger and chilli.

Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry - A simple vegan curry that is packed with lots of your five-a-day and some fabulous spices, such a turmeric, ginger and chilli.

A Tasty Vegan Curry

Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

Hello, so here we are nearly at the end of January 2019 already, I’m not sure how that happened! The month seemed to start off slowly with lingering thoughts of the festive period, and then all of a sudden it galloped to the finishing post. I didn’t start my New Year diet as many do in January, there’s simply too much cake, cheese, chocolates and other Christmas fare around still. In fact we only just finished the panettone and mince pies a few days ago…..and I still have a tin of Christmas biscuits in the pantry too. But whereas we may have been imbibing in naughty treats still, we have been craving simpler food such as salads, soup and curries. Today’s recipe for Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is simply delicious and elevates the humble cauliflower to giddy and spicy heights, along with a standard tin of chickpeas.

Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

I love cauliflower, and have lots of recipes on Lavender and Lovage which are devoted to this versatile vegetable. But unfortunately Malcolm my husband is an avid “cauli-hater”, so I have to be inventive when it comes to serving it. But, he will eat it when it has been smothered in cheese sauce, or it is spiced and in a curry, as well as when I’ve made a cheesy pizza crust with it. So today’s recipe for Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry went down very well with him, which is a blessing as I had two cauliflowers in the vegetable rack. And, it was just what we’d both been craving after the excesses of very rich food over Christmas and New Year.

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

The recipe is shared below and is very simple to make, and I always find it better to make it the day before eating it, which means you can get ahead with menu planning. It also uses very easy to source and common store cupboard ingredients. Try to serve the curry “Full Monty” style with assorted sambals, such as desiccated coconut, peanuts, chutney and chopped onions with tomatoes. We also like to mop up the curry sauce with poppadoms or naan bread for the complete win. This curry will suit vegans, vegetarians and carnivores like my husband alike as it’s packed with lots of textures and spicy flavours.

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

You must try to get the cauliflower nice and browned in the initial stage of cooking, as in Toasted Cauliflower in the title. You saute the florets with the onions and black onion seeds (Nigella seeds) which add a wonderfully fragrant aromatic element to the curry. There’s no need for tomatoes in this curry, it stands up very well just as it is, especially with the chickpeas for added bulk, taste and texture. I hope you feel inspired to make the curry, it’s a great dish to ease you into a healthier New Year. The printable recipe card is shared below and do let me know if you make it and how it went down! Have a great weekend, Karen

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

Toasted Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

Print recipe

Serves	4 to 5
Prep time	20 minutes
Cook time	35 minutes
Total time	55 minutes
Dietary	Diabetic, Gluten Free, Vegan, Vegetarian
Meal type	Lunch, Main Dish
Misc	Freezable, Pre-preparable, Serve Hot
Occasion	Casual Party, Halloween
By author	Karen Burns-Booth

A simple vegan curry that is packed with lots of your five-a-day and some fabulous spices

Ingredients

1 tablespoon rapeseed oil
2 large onions (peeled and diced)
2 cloves garlic (peeled and minced)
1 small cauliflower (trimmed and cut/broken into small florets)
1 tablespoon black onion seeds (aka Nigella seeds)
2 tablespoons curry paste (I used Korma paste)
1 teaspoon turmeric
1/2 teaspoon chilli flakes
1/2 teaspoon ground ginger
1 x 400g tin chickpeas (drained)
600ml vegetable stock
Handful of baby spinach leaves (About 50g)
Coriander leaves (to garnish and serve)

Note

A simple vegan curry that is packed with lots of your five-a-day and some fabulous spices

Directions

Step 1	Heat the oil in a large saucepan over a medium heat and add the diced onions, garlic, cauliflower and black onion seeds. Saute gently with the lid on for between 5 and 7 minutes until the onions are soft and cauliflower has taken on some colour. Remove the lid and saute for a further 2 to 3 minutes to allow the cauliflower to take on more colour.
Step 2	Add the curry paste, turmeric, chilli flakes and ground ginger and stir well. Saute for about 2 minutes then add the chickpeas and the vegetable stock. mix well, replace the lid and simmer for 20 to 25 minutes until the cauliflower is soft but still retains its shape. Five minutes before the end of cooking, add the spinach leaves.
Step 3	Serve with fresh coriander leaves as a garnish with steamed Basmati rice, poppadoms and assorted sambals.
Step 4	NB: Freezes well and is better when eaten the day after making.