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Chickpea Pumpkin Curry

November 17, 2020 by Alexandra Daum
A vegan chickpea pumpkin curry for a simple, seasonal autumn meal. Served with naan or brown rice, it's a budget friendly, filling, and healthy dinner that freezes well.
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Bowls of pumpkin curry with naan and small pumpkins around.

This is a really cozy pumpkin curry without tomatoes, exactly what’s needed on chilly almost winter evenings. It’s not a traditional curry by any means as far as I can tell – rather kind of a mix between a Thai and Indian curry, with a thinner base made with coconut milk, but a dry spice mix adding lots of savoury flavour.

Serve with brown rice for a healthier meal or go for vegan naan if you want maximum comfort food. Rice is definitely lower effort and just as good, but you’ll want some kind of grain/carb to soak things up here. Quinoa, roti, whatever you like.

With pumpkin, chickpeas, greens, and a good spice mix, this is exactly what I want most winter days. Pumpkins are great at this time of year! They’ve been harvested now and are readily available, cheap, and delicious.

My garden pumpkins have just finished curing and will keep well into the winter months. With chard or kale, this is seasonally appropriate right through until spring using stored pumpkins.

Hands dipping a piece of naan into a bowl of curry.

Scroll to the bottom of the post or click “skip to recipe” above to see the recipe card with full ingredient measurements and instructions.

Ingredients

Pumpkin curry ingredients.

Method

Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the oil. Add the onion and cook for about two minutes, or until softened and fragrant. Place the pumpkin into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. It should be slightly softened.

Stir in the garlic and ginger, and cook for another minute. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom, and cayenne pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables. Pour in the apple cider vinegar and stir. This will lift anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot during cooking (deglazing).

Add the coconut milk, water, and chickpeas. Cover and bring to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the pumpkin is softened.

Remove the curry from the heat and stir in the greens to wilt. Frozen greens will require a couple of minutes of simmering. Taste and season as needed. Serve immediately, with naan or rice.

Pumpkin curry with greens in a large pot.

Tips and Notes

Use a type of pumpkin (winter squash) that doesn’t need to be peeled if you can. Hokkaido pumpkin is pictured and it’s great – no peeling and a delicious, firm orange flesh. This might be called red kuri where you are.

Don’t worry if you have some spices or little pieces of ginger sticking slightly to the pot during cooking. The apple cider vinegar lifts any of these stubborn bits and they just add flavour!

Try to be mindful of the rate at which the curry is boiling, and keep it to a low boil and immediately reduce the heat to simmer. Coconut milk has a tendency to separate when boiled, and it likely will here if boiled too long. A gentle heat is key.

This curry is definitely on the broth-y side of things, definitely a bit soupy. If you prefer more heft, reduce the amount of water by half or add more vegetables.

Bowls of pumpkin curry with naan.

Substitutions

Can’t get a hokkaido pumpkin? Butternut is great instead! It needs to be peeled, of course, and is slightly sweeter, but works well. Any kind of winter squash can be used if you have access to less common varieties, too.

The type of greens used can be altered depending on what you have on hand. Chard, kale, spinach, and rucola can all be added interchangeably – though you may want to cook the kale for a minute or two rather than adding it at the end to wilt. Frozen greens can be used too.

Fresh turmeric can be used in place of dried (I list dried as it’s more readily available). Mince it and add alongside the ginger and garlic. You’ll need a pinkie-sized piece, or a generous teaspoon minced.

More Seasonal Curries and Stews

Cauliflower, Sweet Potato, and Chickpea Curry
Yellow Curry Noodle Bowls
Moroccan Chickpea, Sweet Potato, and Kale Stew
Cauliflower Tikka Masala
Vegan Aloo Gobi

Woman's hands holding a bowl of curry.

Let’s connect! For more OE, follow along on Instagram, Facebook, and Pinterest, purchase the Occasionally Eggs cookbook, or subscribe for new posts via email. If you make this recipe, I’d love to see! Tag your instagram versions with @occasionallyeggs.

Yield: 4

Chickpea Pumpkin Curry

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 30 minutes
Total Time 40 minutes
5 from 3 votes

Ingredients

Metric – American
  • 1 tablespoon olive oil
  • 1 medium onion chopped
  • 3 cloves garlic minced
  • 1 thumb ginger minced (about 1 tablespoon)
  • 1 small pumpkin cut into 4 cm pieces (about 2 cups)
  • 1 teaspoon sea salt to taste
  • ½ teaspoon black pepper
  • ½ teaspoon cumin
  • ½ teaspoon cinnamon
  • ¼ teaspoon turmeric
  • ¼ teaspoon cardamom 1 pod fresh
  • ¼ teaspoon cayenne pepper to taste
  • 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar
  • 400 ml canned full-fat coconut milk
  • 400 ml water fill the can from the coconut milk
  • 200 grams cooked or canned chickpeas, rinsed
  • 70 grams greens, roughly chopped (chard, kale, spinach, etc.)
  • Brown rice or naan to serve

Instructions

  • Heat a large pot over medium heat and add the oil.
  • Add the onion and cook for about two minutes, or until softened and fragrant.
  • Place the pumpkin into the pot and cook, stirring frequently, for about five minutes. It should be slightly softened.
  • Stir in the garlic and ginger, and cook for another minute. Add the salt, pepper, cumin, cinnamon, turmeric, cardamom, and cayenne pepper. Stir to coat the vegetables.
  • Pour in the apple cider vinegar and stir. This will lift anything that may have stuck to the bottom of the pot during cooking.
  • Add the coconut milk, water, and chickpeas. Cover and bring to a low boil, then reduce to a simmer and cook for 20-25 minutes, or until the pumpkin is softened.
  • Remove the curry from the heat and stir in the greens to wilt. Frozen greens will require a couple of minutes of simmering. Taste and season as needed.
  • Serve immediately, with naan or rice. Leftovers freeze well in a sealed container for up to a month and can be refrigerated for 3-4 days.

Nutrition

Serving: 1g Calories: 465kcal Carbohydrates: 54g Protein: 15g Fat: 25g Saturated Fat: 19g Polyunsaturated Fat: 3g Sodium: 566mg Fiber: 12g Sugar: 6g
© Alexandra Daum
Course: Mains
Cuisine: American
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This post was originally published in November 2016. It has been updated with new photos and text, and some slight changes to the recipe, as of November 2020.

More Mains:

Peanut butter noodle bowl in a large ceramic serving dish.Ten Minute Peanut Butter Noodle Salad
Kale topped pizza on two sheets of parchment paper.Winter Pizza
Mushroom pot pie with a serving on a separate plate.Mushroom Pot Pie (Vegan)
Three potato tacos in a shallow bowl.Roasted Potato Tacos

Previous Post: « Spiced Pear Cider
Next Post: Vegan Mushroom and Pumpkin Shepherd’s Pie »

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Comments

  1. Radina Ringo says

    November 20, 2016 at 7:35 am

    Alexandra, I just love, love, love your recipes.They suit my eating habits and delicate tummy.Please don't feel anxious to get a blog/recipes out to us in quick time.Relax, enjoy your new surroundings. Thank you for your dedication to this blog. Take care,
    Pina

    Reply
  2. Alexandra Daum says

    November 20, 2016 at 4:19 pm

    Thank you so much, Radina! That's so sweet. I'm happy to hear it, since I am starting a new business venture now and time will be short for the next little while 🙂 I hope to still post about once a week, though!

    Reply
  3. Nati. says

    November 20, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    I just got a pumpkin this morning, lucky me I found your recipe! Sounds simple and looks so warm and recomforting.
    Also, great tip for the pumpkin seeds! I've tried so many times to roast them but failed… it never occurred to me to soak them first!

    Reply
  4. Meredith Youngson says

    November 20, 2016 at 7:25 pm

    Your blog is gorgeous, and I love your writing! It's always hard to start fresh somewhere new, congrats on the new opportunity! Cant wait to see your work. XX Meredith

    Reply
  5. Alexandra Daum says

    November 30, 2016 at 8:36 pm

    Thank you, Meredith! It's so nice to see such kind words 🙂

    Reply
  6. Alexandra Daum says

    November 30, 2016 at 8:37 pm

    Ha, thank you! This has become a go-to recipe for me now that the weather has turned colder. It makes a huge difference to soak them – I hope your next try goes well!

    Reply
  7. susan sjuve says

    February 3, 2019 at 6:37 pm

    Made the pumpkin stew but with butternut squash and beans instead of chick peas. It was great

    Reply
    • Alexandra | Occasionally Eggs says

      February 12, 2019 at 3:10 pm

      So happy to hear that, Susan!

      Reply
  8. Frauke says

    September 26, 2020 at 8:47 pm

    I tried it today, and omg: so good!! I used hokkaido and it was a dream. Greetings from Germany!! <3

    Reply

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