Coconut Curry Chickpeas with Pumpkin and Lime from Molly MacRae

 

This is a delicious, quick meal full of flavor from the lovely blend of curry spices and fresh lime juice. The spices will warm you on a cold night and the lime is bright enough to feel just right for spring. Next time I make it, if we have extra fresh greens (spinach, arugula, kale – all three?), I’ll toss them into the pan during the last few minutes. That will up the green vegetable quotient, but the greens aren’t necessary at all to make a satisfying meal. 

Coconut Curry Chickpeas with Pumpkin and Lime

(adapted from The New York Times)

Serves 4 to 6 

Ingredients

3 tablespoons canola or other neutral vegetable oil

1 large onion, chopped

2 jalapeños, seeded or not, thinly sliced

1 bay leaf

1 piece fresh ginger (about 1-inch), minced

5 or 6 garlic cloves, minced

1 1/2 teaspoons garam masala

1 teaspoon ground cumin

1/2 teaspoon ground turmeric

2 (15-ounce) cans chickpeas, rinsed

1 (13.5-ounce) can full fat coconut milk

1 (13.5-ounce) can pumpkin purée

1 1/2 teaspoons salt

3/4 cup chopped cilantro, more for serving

2 to 3 tablespoons fresh lime juice plus wedges for serving (optional)

Cooked rice or couscous for serving (optional)

 

Directions

Heat oil in a large skillet over medium-high heat. Stir in onion, jalapeño, and bay leaf. Cook, stirring occasionally, until onion is golden on the edges, about 8 minutes.

Add ginger and garlic and cook until fragrant, about 2 minutes, stirring frequently. Stir in garam masala, cumin, and turmeric. Cook 30 seconds.

Stir in chickpeas, coconut milk, pumpkin, 1/2 cup water, and 1 1/2 teaspoons salt. Bring to a simmer and simmer 10 minutes, stirring occasionally. Stir in cilantro and lime juice to taste. Taste and add more salt if necessary.

Serve over rice or couscous, if you like, and top with more cilantro. Serve lime wedges on the side. 

 

Look for Molly’s new series—the Haunted Shell Shop Mysteries—coming in July 2024!

Book 1: Come Shell or High Water

 When widowed folklorist Maureen Nash visits a legendary North Carolina barrier island shell shop, she discovers its resident ghost pirate and the mystery of a local’s untimely death . . .

"Molly MacRae's delightful pirate ghost story and cozy mystery mashup is not to be missed. Cozy readers will be enthralled with this trip to North Carolina's Outer Banks." —Amanda Flower, USA Today bestselling author of Blueberry Blunder

In the meantime, you can enjoy her other books. 

The Boston Globe says Molly MacRae writes “murder with a dose of drollery.” She’s the author of the award-winning, national bestselling Haunted Yarn Shop Mysteries and the Highland Bookshop Mysteries. As Margaret Welch, she writes books for Annie’s Fiction. Her short stories have appeared in Alfred Hitchcock Mystery Magazine and she’s a winner of the Sherwood Anderson Award for Short Fiction. Visit Molly on Facebook and Pinterest and connect with her on Twitter  or Instagram.