I know I’ve posted a chick pea and cauliflower curry recipe before, but this one has a bit of a twist, it’s Thai and I just couldn’t resist! The fresh flavours that Thai spice combinations brings to this dish is simply mouth watering, and it’s even better the next day (fortunately, I made enough for my lunch at work). You can blanket this beautiful curry over Jasmine rice, perhaps with a little coconut in it, but we just put it over a combo of Arugula and Spinach to manage the waist-line! I found the original recipe here but I made my own changes just because I felt it needed it when I tasted it mid-way.
Chick Pea and Cauliflower Thai Curry
Serves 4,
Ingredients:
- 1/2 cup finely chopped sweet onion (I used Vidalia)
- 3 cloves garlic, finely minced
- 1 tbsp freshly grated ginger
- 1/2 tsp turmeric
- 1/4 tsp cayenne pepper
- 2+1/2 tsp. ground cumin
- 1/2 tsp ground coriander
- 2 tbsp fish sauce
- 3-4 tbsp coconut milk powder in about 1/4 cup boiling water, dissolved
- 1 cup vegetable stock
- 4 kafir lime leaves
- 12-14 oz can chickpeas
- 1 generous head of cauliflower
- 1/4 cup lime cordial
- 1/2 cup cilantro, lightly chopped for garnish
- 1 finely sliced scallion for garnish
Directions:
- Heat up a wok or frying pan over medium-high heat. Add 2 tbsp. oil plus the onion and garlic. Stir-fry 1 minute.
- Add all of the dry spices, plus fish sauce fry together briefly.
- Add the cauliflower, stock and dissolved coconut milk powder. Add the kafir lime leaves and cook the cauliflower until it is fork tender but not too soft. Add the chick peas and heat through.
- Remove from heat. Stir in the lime cordial and give it a good stir.
- Do a taste-test. Adjust the salt level by adding a little more soy or fish sauce if not salty enough. If too salty, add a squeeze of lime juice.
- Garnish with chopped coriander and finely sliced scallion and serve hot with either rice or greens.
- ENJOY!
Your curry looks and sounds amazing!!!
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Thanks Amber, it’s become one of our Go-To dishes.
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What a great idea using the lime cordial. Limes can be $25US+ per kilo sometimes so I usually just go without or use 1 lime very, VERY sparingly.
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Wow, that’s crazy expensive Genie, I wonder why they are do expensive? I would think that you would get limes from your side of the world. I have often stocked up on citrus when on sale and grated the rinds and squeezed the juice for the freezer.
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One time I bought 5 limes when we were having cocktails but when we didn’t use them all, I chopped them up and froze them to have a slice at a time for future drinks and classy glasses of water. No idea why they are so expensive here. I imagine they are imported.
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Well that’s just beautiful Eva. This is something I could have now. The only things I would have to omit or substitute are the cayenne and the lime cordial. I will let you know how it turns out.
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Hi Zsuzsa, replace the lime cordial with lime juice and a spot of honey for balance. I’m also trying to remove processed sugars from our diets, it’s just healthier.
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Looks wonderful Eva. WW is back on the menu in the glutton house so I think i’ll surprise Liz with this one night. Thanks!
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Hi Jed, good for her, I’m doing my own version over the next month or so to get into short weather! Looking forward to hearing whether she enjoyed it. I loved it because it’s rather filling.
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Love the Thai twist on this Indian classic Eva
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Thanks Claire, it really hit our taste buds.
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This sounds delightful, Eva, and I’m glad you clarified what lime cordial is…I had no clue! We are trying to go vegan for at least 2/3 of our day around here and I’m on the lookout for new things to try. This curry really appeals to me!
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Thanks so much Betsy, I’m very excited that it appeals to you! Going vegan 2/3 is quite aggressive, may I ask why? I’m doing vegetarian for the final third of my daily calories, just because it seems to make sense for me, since I’m pretty sedentary after 5pm.
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Hey Eva! It’s just something we’re doing to try to shed some weight, eat more fruits and veggies and whole grains, and hopefully improve general numbers at our house. Mark Bittman, the food writer and cookbook author, is someone I’ve followed for a while and his new cookbook coming out is called Vegan Before Six or VB6, a method of eating that has worked well for him and allows him to still have what he wants to eat for dinner, which makes a lot of sense and sounds very doable to me. Over time, it makes you less inclined to pile on bad for you food, even when you can. If it works, I may write about it…we shall see. 🙂
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Looks like a good Thai recipe to me. 🙂 I wonder if the kids (and I) would like the cauliflower this way. You wouldn’t believe how much they like the cauliflower mash. Miss A even said she wants them on her birthday! 🙂
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Thanks Kristy.
Wow, now that’s something that Miss A wants the mash for her birthday, so great. I love it too but my reasons are more about having an alternative to potatoes.
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I must admit that normally I can’t abide cauliflower. When it’s raw, pickled or in a curry though I really enjoy it. (I know, I posted a cauli mash recipe some time ago… that’s about my limit. That was more an experiment which I hope could give people some inspiration). Love chickpeas, so I’d really enjoy this… and forget the rice… I’d stick with your suggestion! Some of the best curry-based dishes I’ve had have been served over leaves. Something about the curry flavour really pairs well with salad-type stuff!
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Eva, I’m sorry I’m so late with comments this week… The weather is so beautiful and I’ve been so sick I had problems with writing just one post this week. Anyway, this curry looks wonderful and at first I would say it’s Indian (you know, chickpeas and cauliflower…), so it’s a lovely fusion idea. Rocket is even more surprising, but everything seems to go perfectly well together.
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Chickpeas, cauliflower and Thai flavors sound like a combination too good to miss!
I love the idea of layering this over Arugula too, a fresh and healthy twist
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Thanks Sawsan, it was surprisingly filling considering it’s mainly cauliflower.
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chickpea and curry- a great combination and i love the idea of the slight hint of tartness (is that a word? LOL)
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Hi Eva, A very creative dish. When you mention lime cordial, are you referring to something like Rose’s Lime juice?
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Hi Karen yes, that’s it. I just like the tart sweetness and if I don’t have time to dicker around, it’s a perfect shortcut.
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Thanks…I thought that might be it.
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I know what you mean about the irresistible combination of Thai flavors. It seems no matter what I start with, my dishes often take on the flavors of Thailand 😉 – funny how that happens. I appreciate meals like this that taste better the next day – I always make extra for lunches, etc. so it’s a delight to revisit and avoid the disappointment of “I can’t believe it’s all gone!” :). The lime cordial is a fun mix-in here Eva – I’ve not tried that before. Lovely recipe!
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Thanks Kelly, I have to consciously not be tempted to bring out the fish sauce, lime juice and coriander otherwise all my dishes would have a Thai flavour.
The lime cordial is a bit sweet so be cautious; it’s more of a short cut. I’d be interested to hear what you think if organic stevia.
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I’m so glad the evening light has returned. Granted, we’ve a bit to go yet but this is far better than a 4:15 sunset. You are so inventive in the kitchen, Eva. Mixing chickpeas & cauliflower with Thai curry sounds like a winning combination, and serving it over rocket & spinach is a great way to trim calories. Besides, I think it would be a tasty alternative, especially if the greens wilt a bit.
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Thanks so much for calling out my little error John, I truly appreciate it.
Thank you too for your kind words as always. I too adore wilted greens, I first had a salad with wilted greens in Paris and it was heavenly! I could not believe it took me so long to find such a match made in heaven!
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This is a great recipe Eva! Not only is it healthy but it’s a real pantry staple recipe too! 😀
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How true, I always have a tin of chic peas in the pantry. It’s fast, nutritious and tasty.
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Are all your co-workers looking over your shoulder as soon as you bring out your lunch? Love cauliflower, unfortunately it is one of the vegetables that I have no luck growing so have to buy. Know what you mean by managing the waist line.
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That’s very nice, thank you Norma. Too bad cauliflower doesn’t grow for you.
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Lime cordial? Your recipes are the best – who else would think of trying that? I know what you mean about nighttime photos. We don’t have daylight savings up here in Queensland so I suffer with it all the time. I did buy some (really) cheap softboxes and keep them up in the dining room unless we’re entertaining.
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That’s a great idea Maureen, I should do that too. Thanks so much for your lovely compliment.
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Lime cordial! That’s an ingredient I would never have thought of adding. This curry looks so good for you and it must have wonderful flavours. It’s getting darker at night here too so yes, we’re entering into the difficult photography zone. Surely your longer days are just around the corner xx
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Hi Charlie, hope you’re enjoying your vacation, thank you kindly for taking the time to comment on my blog. Yes, the days are indeed getting longer, but it’s still darn cold, it even snowed on Saturday.
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I don’t think I’ve bought/eaten cauliflower in several years. You’ve done that humble vegetable proud turning it into this tasty dish.
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Thanks Maria, it’s a staple in our house but I can certainly see how it can be forgotten.
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I love the variety of spice in your diet…and cauliflower often gets overlooked over here but you’ve inspired me to incorporate it a bit more…looks fab, Eva!
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Thanks so much SM, it’s one of our favourite veggies for sure and the curry does indeed spice it up.
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I have never tried something like this with chick peas…..lovely dish Eva!
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Thanks Minnie, chick peas are very satisfying and filling.
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Mmh I wouldn’t even miss the rice with this, just looks so good the way it is!
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Thanks so much, it was very satisfying indeed.
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Eva, that’s a comforting and delicious veggie curry.
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Thank you kindly Angie, it sure was tasty. I’m hoping our temperatures begin to warm up so we won’t need to eat such warming dishes.
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Combining chick peas with Thai flavour – perfect 😀
And you prove it with your photos!
Cheers
Choc Chip Uru
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