Incredibly easy and healthy, this Quick Aubergine and Chickpea Curry is perfect for busy weeknights. Serve with brown rice or buckwheat for a guilt free, hassle free, midweek meal.
You could be forgiven for thinking I’ve gone slightly curry mad recently. In fact in the last few weeks I’ve posted Kale and Red Onion Dhal, Easy Peasy Chicken Curry and Indian Spiced Cauliflower Rice…and I have a few more in the pipeline! But the reason is simple. I just love curry!! For me a good homemade curry is the perfect balance of easy peasyness and foodieness.
So often, curry is incredibly simple to make – a few spices, a tin of tomatoes or coconut milk or both, meat/veg or both and 30 minutes later you have the most incredible tasting meal for so very little effort. Plus if you make a vegetarian curry, using chickpeas or lentils and vegetables, a curry can be a very economical meal too.
And while their ready meal and takeaway curry cousins often get a bad rap for being unhealthy and chock full of calories and additives, homemade curries – like this Quick Aubergine and Chickpea Curry – are usually very healthy, especially if you pack them with spices and veggies and serve them with brown rice or buckwheat.
This easy peasy vegetarian curry certainly ticks all these boxes and more, it’s cheap, tasty and is packed full of nutrients, plus it takes well under 30 minutes to make and is family friendly too – or at least my kids love it! Oh and it’s vegan, gluten free and dairy free to boot – what’s not to like?
Wine wise – for me, a Chilean Sauvignon Blanc would be perfect here. But my husband would definitely have a beer!!
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Quick Aubergine and Chickpea Curry
Ingredients
- 200 g brown rice (or buckwheat - see note 1)
- 1 tablespoon olive oil (or coconut oil)
- 1 red onion sliced
- 1 aubergine (eggplant) chopped into bitesize chunks
- 3 garlic cloves grated or crushed
- 3 cm ginger grated
- ½ teaspoon dried chilli flakes
- ½ teaspoon salt or to taste
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds ground
- 1 teaspoon coriander seeds ground
- 1 teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400 g tin chickpeas in water including the water (DON’T DRAIN!)
- 2 tablespoons fresh coriander (cilantro) chopped
- 100 g spinach optional
- Juice of 1 lime optional
Instructions
- Start by cooking the brown rice according to packet instructions / your own preferences.
- Put the oil and sliced red onions in a large wide pan and cook over a low heat with the lid on for 3 minutes until slightly softened but not brown.
- Add the aubergine, turn up the heat and cook for 5 -7 minutes until the aubergine and onions are golden.
- Turn the heat down and add the garlic, ginger, chilli and salt and cook for 1 more minute.
- Add the rest of the spices and a splash of water, to stop the pan going dry, and cook for a further 1 minute.
- Add the tin of tomatoes and the tin of chickpeas, including their water. Turn up the heat and bring to the boil. Turn the heat down a little and cook for 10 minutes.
- After 10 minutes add the coriander, spinach and lime juice. Stir until the spinach has just wilted and serve with a glass of Sauvignon Blanc, for a simple, hassle free midweek meal.
Notes
- Instructions for cooking buckwheat can be found here >>> What is buckwheat and how do you cook it?
- Suitable for freezing.
- Nutrition information is approximate and meant as a guideline only.
Pin Quick Aubergine and Chickpea Curry for later
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Linkies
I am linking this up to Cook Blog Share.
Angela / Only Crumbs Remain says
I couldn’t agree with you more Eb about curries being so easy and flavoursome……I just wish Mr E enjoyed them! So I can only enjoy them on my own these days when he’s out! I managed to track down some buckwheat grains a couple of wks ago from a local health food shop and I have to agree that they’re an acquired taste, but by the time we were coming to the end of the meal I was actually enjoying them. I think I’ll cook it for less time when we use them again though.
Angeal x
Eb Gargano says
Oh what a shame that Mr E doesn’t like curry! Is it the spicy flavours or the heat he doesn’t like? If it’s the heat, this curry is pretty mild – I fed it to my kids who don’t like hot curries and they were fine with it. If it’s the spice maybe you could adapt this by leaving out the spices? It wouldn’t be a curry but it would still taste good! Ooh glad you managed to get some buckwheat – it is definitely an acquired taste so do persevere, I thought it was very odd the first time I tried it, but now I love it! The trick is definitely not to cook it for too long – I cook mine exactly like I do pasta, for about 10 minutes in plenty of water, and for me that is perfect! Eb x
Corina says
It sounds lovely – I also find curries make great easy midweek meals and I love that I can prepare them any time earlier in the day and just reheat when we’re ready to eat. I keep reading about not draining the chickpeas but I find I can’t quite bring myself to add the water too! I’m sure it’s one of these things that once I do I’ll be completely converted but I can’t quite bring myself to do it yet! Thank you for sharing with #CookOnceEatTwice
Eb Gargano says
Haha – it’s taken me a while to come round to the idea of not draining chickpeas and beans, but actually when you think about it, it’s only water and some of the chickpea goodness is in the water, so it kind of makes sense. Otherwise I’d only be throwing it away and using water from the tap or adding another tin of tomatoes! Thanks for your kind comments 🙂 Eb x
Sarah James @ Tales From The Kitchen Shed says
Your curry looks delicious Eb, I’ve got aubergines growing in my veg patch so I’m pinning this for later. As you know we’re already a fan of your Easy Butter Chicken x
Eb Gargano says
Aw, thanks Sarah 🙂 I’d love to know what you think of this one too!! And knowing you like the butter chicken, I’d really recommend my Turkey Tikka Masala Meatballs too!! Very jealous of you having homegrown aubergines – they must taste amazing 🙂
Sara says
Thanks for the recipe! I made this tonight with the addition of carrot & cauliflower & celery and omitted the salt & spinach. I like the spice combination and how easy it is to put together.
Eb Gargano says
Yay! So pleased you like the recipe. Love the sound of your adaptations. Eb ?
Rebecca - Glutarama says
I’m always keen to cook with aubergine, they look such a lovely vegetable,but I’ve never known what to do with one besides moussaka which I’m sure my lot wouldn’t eat. This may just work – fingers crossed.
Eb Gargano says
Oooh then you’ve come to the right place Rebecca! I love aubergines and have loads of delicious aubergine recipes >>> https://www.easypeasyfoodie.com/tag/aubergine/ Eb 🙂
Kat (The Baking Explorer) says
I made something very similar for my son and he’s been loving it, so I can see why this is such a hit!
Eb Gargano says
Thanks, Kat – good to hear your son likes it! Eb 🙂