Chickpea Curry Soup with Roasted Cashews

This chickpea curry soup is so fragrant, creamy, and absolutely delicious. It’s one of my favorite go-to comfort dishes for a quick weeknight dinner. It’s made from pantry staples which makes it easy to whip up when you have nothing else in your refrigerator.

This recipe was born on a cold spring evening after a hectic day at work. My husband had an evening work meeting and our refrigerator was bare. I fed the kids sad looking peanut butter sandwiches with bananas for dinner, washed all the lunchboxes and unpacked all the bags before I got to even thinking about dinner.  I coach crew in the spring so after a cold wet practice, I was craving something warm and cozy for dinner.

Thankfully, we usually have a stockpile of canned goods that includes chickpeas, coconut milk, chicken stock and a few cans of tomatoes. With my last onion, some jarred chopped garlic, and fresh ginger I was able to create a super satisfying dish of chickpea curry soup.  I ended up making this dish six weeks in a row as it turned out to be the perfect comfort food and conclusion to a cold damp day.

What you need to make Chickpea Curry Soup:

The first step is to saute the red onion, fresh grated ginger, and garlic. You could definitely use a white or sweet onion if that is what you have. Use a cheese grater or microplane to grate ~1 inch of fresh ginger, which is roughly 2 tablespoons.

Start by warming up a drizzle of olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium/low heat. Sauté the red onion, garlic and ground ginger for ~10 minutes. You do not want to brown or caramelize the garlic and onion, you just want it to soften and release their flavors.

Ideally I’d use fresh garlic, but I always have a jar of pre-chopped garlic in my pantry as back up. This allows me to have the ability to make flavorful dishes regardless if I’ve been to the grocery store recently.

Next, add the chickpeas, curry powder, and salt. Using a spoon, mix all of the contents together so they are fully coated in the curry powder.  Continually stir the chickpea curry mixture for two minutes. This allows the curry powder flavors to really come out before adding the rest of the ingredients.

At this point I like to use a potato masher to crush some of the chickpeas. I don’t worry about crushing all of the chickpeas, in fact, I usually leave some whole. The variation size of the mashed chickpeas creates a nice texture.

Next, add the red pepper flakes, dried Thai chili, chicken stock, and canned tomatoes.

Note: if you’d like to make this dish vegan just substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.

After stirring the contents together, bring the heat up to medium high until a rapid boil and then reduce to low  allowing the dish to simmer for 10 minutes.  Add the coconut milk and allow the soup to continue to simmer for at least another 20 minutes.  If you’re not in a rush, you can simmer …this soup for up to an hour allowing the flavors to develop.

The roasted cashews:

Adding roasted cashews to this chickpea curry soup takes it over the top. It only takes a few minutes to roast the cashews and they add a savory crunch which will make your carnivore friends forget that they’re eating a vegetarian dish.

Place the cashews on a cookie sheet and in a 350° oven. Roast them for 10 to 15 minutes stirring them occasionally. Keep a close eye on the cashews, you don’t want them to burn. Take them out of the oven when they start becoming golden brown.

Ready to serve:

Serve chickpea curry soup on its own or over white rice. Top with roasted cashews, a drizzle of lime juice, and chopped cilantro if you have it.

Similar to my chopped garlic, I always have bottled lemon and lime juice in my pantry. In case I don’t have fresh limes, I just use a drizzle of the bottled lime juice.

This dish takes about 40 minutes but it’s mostly hands-off. Next time you’re craving some seriously delicious comfort food try this chickpea curry soup.

If you like this recipe you might also enjoy Vegetarian Tikka Masala or Chicken Tikka Masala for meat eaters.

More great soup recipes:

• Mushroom and Turkey Soup (Thanksgiving Leftovers)
• Butternut Squash Soup
• Black Bean Soup
• Chicken & Roasted Tomato Stew
• Moroccan Chicken Thighs Braised with Preserved Lemons, Olives, and Chickpeas
• Lentil Quinoa Jalapeño and Preserved Lemon Soup

Recipe

Chickpea Curry Soup

This chickpea curry soup is so fragrant, creamy, and is absolutely delicious. It’s one of my favorite go to comfort dishes for a quick weeknight dinner. It’s made from pantry staples which makes it easy to whip up when you have nothing else in your refrigerator.

5 from 1 vote

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Total Time 40 minutes mins

Course Main Course

Cuisine American, Indian

Servings 4

Ingredients

  

• 1 purple onion diced
• 2 tablespoon fresh grated ginger
• 2 cloves garlic crushed
• fresh squeezed lime for garnish
• chopped cilantro for garnish
• 2 tablespoon curry powder
• 1 15.5 oz canned chickpeas drained
• 1 teaspoon salt
• ½ teaspoon red pepper flake
• 1 whole dried Thai chili
• 1 cup chicken stock
• 1 28 oz can tomatoes crushed or diced
• 1 15.5 oz can coconut milk
• 1 cup raw cashews

Instructions

 

• Start by warming up a drizzle of olive oil in a large sauce pan on medium/low heat. Sauté the red onion, garlic and ground ginger for ~10 minutes.
• Add the chickpeas, curry powder, and salt. Using a spoon, mix all of the contents together so they are fully coated in the curry powder. Continually stir the chickpea curry mixture for two minutes.
• Use a potato masher to crush some of the chickpeas.
• Next, add the red pepper flakes, dried Thai chili, chicken stock, and canned tomatoes.
• After stirring the contents together, bring the heat up to medium high until a rapid boil and then reduce to low allowing the dish to simmer for 10 minutes.
• Add the coconut milk and allow the soup to continue to simmer for at least another 20 minutes.
• The roasted cashews:
• Place the cashews on a cookie sheet and in a 350° oven. Roast them for 10 to 15 minutes stirring them occasionally.

Notes

If you’d like to make this dish vegan just substitute vegetable stock for the chicken stock.