Spicy Coconut Chickpea Rice Bowl
A creamy, spicy coconut curry with chickpeas and spinach spooned over fluffy rice. The sauce is rich with curry powder and coconut milk, brightened with a squeeze of nothing but its own warmth, and it comes together in one pan on the stove.
- Total
- 35 min
- Prep 8 · Cook 22 · Rest 5
- Serves
- 1
- Difficulty
- Easy
You'll practice: Absorption rice · Blooming spices
- Savory
- Indian
- Creamy
- Spicy
- Stovetop
- Oven
Instructions
-
Rinse the rice under cold water until it runs mostly clear, then drain. Add the rice and 180 ml water to a small saucepan with a pinch of the salt. Bring to a boil, then cover, lower the heat and simmer until the water is absorbed and the grains are tender, about 15 minutes.
~15 min
Rinsing removes surface starch so the grains stay separate instead of turning gluey; covering traps steam that cooks the rice evenly.
Absorption rice Use the right water ratio, bring to a boil, then cover and cook undisturbed on low. Peeking or stirring releases steam and makes rice gummy.
-
While step 1 cooks
While the rice cooks, heat the oil in a frying pan over medium heat. Add the chopped onion and cook, stirring, until soft and lightly golden, about 6 minutes.
~6 min
Cooking the onion until lightly golden builds sweetness and flavor depth through browning before the spices go in.
-
Add the garlic powder, curry powder and paprika to the pan and stir for 30 to 60 seconds, until fragrant. Do not let them scorch.
~1 min
Brief heating in hot oil blooms the spices, releasing fat-soluble aromas that make the curry taste fuller and toastier.
If the curry powder smells sharp rather than toasty, it is old: bloom it a few seconds longer in the oil before adding liquid.
Blooming spices Cook ground spices in hot oil for 30 to 60 seconds until fragrant. Stop before they darken or scorch, which turns them bitter.
-
Add the 150 g chickpeas and 150 ml coconut milk, then stir in the remaining salt and the black pepper. Simmer gently until the sauce thickens enough to coat the chickpeas, about 8 minutes.
~8 min
Simmering evaporates water and lets the chickpea starch thicken the coconut milk into a sauce that clings.
Crush a few of the chickpeas against the pan with the back of the spoon as the sauce simmers; the released starch thickens the coconut milk into a silky gravy.
-
Add the spinach in handfuls and stir until just wilted and bright green, about 2 minutes. Taste and adjust the salt.
~2 min
Brief cooking wilts the spinach while keeping it bright green; long cooking dulls color and turns it mushy.
-
Fluff the rice with a fork and let it stand off the heat for 5 minutes. Spoon the rice into a bowl, top with the chickpea curry and serve.
~5 min
Resting off the heat lets residual steam finish the grains and firms them so the rice fluffs rather than clumps.