Coconut Chicken Chickpea Curry + Cilantro Lime Rice
Honestly, I’m still surprised I made a curry recipe that I love, especially one that I love enough to be sharing with the world. My history with making curry is bleak and discouraging, so I had almost written it off for good after multiple sub-par attempts. We happily resigned ourselves to our local Indian restaurant any time we had a curry craving.
But one day a couple months ago, a lone can of chickpeas and a leftover can of coconut milk in the pantry got me thinking I should try again. My beautiful Indian spice collection I inherited from my friend Jessie when she moved last year provided added encouragement.
I spent some time Googling recipes and making a list of ingredients I knew I wanted to use — the two cans from my pantry, collard greens and chicken were on the top of the list. I combined several different recipes and methods and landed here, a sweet spot of hearty curry goodness.

The first night I made it, we had our friend Nick over who claimed I could put the Indian restaurant out of business! I laughed a lot, but it was so soul-warming that it was all the affirmation I needed to know I had finally made a delicious curry!
The next month I made two big pots of the curry for our monthly supper club, plated up ten servings of this deliciousness in our tiny apartment, and loved it even more. I was cooking with the windows and doors open, and everyone who came into our apartment that night told me they could smell the goodness from the road as soon as they got out of their cars!
Not only will your house (and potentially your whole street!) smell like heaven, I can guarantee you’ll have some happy & full bellies after you serve this Indian comfort food. I hope you and your people enjoy it just as much as we have!
- Heat a wok or your largest skillet over med-high heat. Add 1 tablespoon coconut oil and cook the chicken breast until golden brown and cooked thru, about 8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Transfer the cooked chicken to a plate.
- With the heat still over med-high, melt another tablespoon of coconut oil in the wok. Add in all the vegetables and season with salt and pepper. Cook the vegetables until starting to brown slightly on the edges, but still crisp tender, about 6-8 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add the garlic and ginger, cook for 30 seconds until fragrant. Add in the spices and stir to combine. Add in the tomatoes, coconut milk, lime juice and chickpeas, stir to combine, cook for about 5 more minutes. Add the chicken back in, and cook for another few minutes until heated through.
- Spoon the coconut chicken chickpea curry over rice and serve warm. Top with more red pepper flakes if you like more spice.


- In a small heavy pot, add rice, water, 1 tsp oil and salt and bring to a boil.
- Once the rice has begun to boil, reduce to low and cover about 15 minutes.
- Shut off flame and keep covered an additional 5 minute.
- In a medium bowl, combine chopped cilantro, lime juice, rice and remaining oil and toss until completely mixed.
