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The creamiest, easiest, Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi. Make this curry with whatever produce you have on hand. I use a mix of sweet corn, zucchini, coconut milk, creamy tahini, lemon, plenty of curry powder, and cayenne for some heat. Serve over steamed rice and top with fried halloumi cheese and crispy chickpeas. This dish is layered with flavor and texture, and completely delicious. All you need for this recipe are pantry ingredients, garden veggies, and less than 45 minutes.
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Starting the week off with a super healthy, meatless Monday recipe that’s filling, summery, and delicious. I know that’s a lot to live up to, but this recipe does!
After a 4 day weekend, I could not think of a better recipe to share. If you spent the weekend like my family, you were outside, grilling, sipping on cocktails, and eating plenty of delicious…authentic Costa Rican dishes. Ok, so maybe you didn’t spend your long holiday quite the way we did. You may have swapped the Costa Rican dishes for BBQ, corn, potatoes, and hopefully plenty of ice cream too.
That’s all great, but today’s recipe is a little summer “reset”. Don’t worry though, it’s so good, and actually super comforting as well. Enter in this delicious summer curry that’s (almost) vegan, super luscious, creamy, full of garden produce, easy, and all around healthy.
Here’s the details.
This curry is made almost entirely in ONE pot and comes together really fast.
Start by crisping up some chickpeas. Next, you’ll add in all the major flavors…shallots, garlic, and plenty of ginger. Now, toss in whatever produce you have on hand. For me, that meant zucchini, corn, bell peppers, eggplant, and cherry tomatoes. But just about any type of produce would be great.
Next to go in are the creamy ingredients, coconut milk and tahini…the key to this curry. Coconut milk is pretty common in most curry dishes, but tahini is a little different. Honestly, I added this in on a whim. The thought of super creamy and nutty tahini just sounded really delicious. I wasn’t quite sure how it would actually be though. It ended up creating the creamiest, heartiest, vegetarian curry, beyond good and different too.
If you don’t have tahini on hand, you could also use creamy peanut butter, cashew butter, or almond butter. Though the peanut butter will add a little different flavor, it still will be delicious.
Simmer the curry for a few minutes to allow all the flavors to mend together. While that’s happening, work on the finishing touches.
Pan-fry some Halloumi cheese. I know, know. Halloumi cheese is Greek, curry is Indian. Yes, I am mixing cuisines. And yes, I know some of you may not be into this. But I’m all about it…if it’s good, it’s good, you know?
Halloumi is a salty grilling cheese commonly used in Mediterranean cooking. It’s so good when pan-fried and I love incorporating it into dishes like vegetarian tacos, peanut noodles, extra summery salads, and now summer curries! It adds great flavor and texture. It’s what makes this curry really stand out and be just a touch better than others.
And honestly, what’s better than pan-fried cheese? Not much.
I like to serve the curry over steamed rice and top with fresh cilantro and really thinly sliced cucumbers.
So much color. So much flavor. Incredibly healthy. And so, so, SO GOOD!
Oh, and fast and easy too.
I mean, come on, you gotta agree…Best Monday Recipe!
If you make this summer coconut chickpea curry with rice and fried halloumi, be sure to leave a comment and/or give this recipe a rating! Above all, I love to hear from you guys and always do my best to respond to each and every comment. And of course, if you do make this recipe, don’t forget to tag me on Instagram! Looking through the photos of recipes you all have made is my favorite!
Watch the How To Video:
Summer Coconut Chickpea Curry with Rice and Fried Halloumi.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup + 4 tablespoons extra virgin olive oil
- 1 can (14 ounce) chickpeas, drained
- kosher salt and black pepper
- 2 zucchini, or summer squash, diced
- 2 ears sweet corn, kernels removed from the cob
- 1 shallot, chopped
- 1 inch fresh ginger, grated
- 2 cloves garlic, minced or grated
- 1 1/2 tablespoons yellow curry powder
- 1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper, more or less to taste
- 1 can (14 ounce) coconut milk
- 2 tablespoons tahini, (sesame seed paste)
- juice and zest from 1/2 a lemon
- 1/4 cup fresh cilantro, roughly chopped , (basil can be used)
- 8 ounces Halloumi cheese, sliced into 1/4 inch pieces, (omit if vegan)
- 2 cups cooked basmati rice
- sesame seeds, green onions, and Persian cucumbers, for serving , (optional)
Instructions
- 1. Heat 1/4 cup olive oil in a large pot over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the chickpeas and season with salt and pepper. Cook, stirring occasionally until the chickpeas begin to crisp, about 5 minutes. Carefully remove 1/2 cup of chickpeas and reserve for topping, only if desired. 2. To the remaining chickpeas, add the zucchini, corn, shallot, garlic, and ginger. Season with salt and pepper. Cook the veggies another 5-10 minutes or until they just begin to soften.3. Stir in the curry powder and cayenne and cook until fragrant, about 1 minute. Add the coconut milk, 1/3-1/2 cup water, and the tahini. Stir to combine, bring the mixture to a simmer over medium heat, cook 5-10 minutes or until the sauce thickens slightly. If the sauce thickens too much, add additional water to thin. Remove from the heat and stir in the lemon juice and zest, and cilantro.4. Meanwhile, cook the halloumi. Heat 2 tablespoons olive oil in a large skillet over medium heat. When the oil shimmers, add the halloumi and cook until golden, about 3 minutes per side. Remove from skillet. 5. To serve, divide the rice among bowls and spoon the curry overtop. Top with halloumi, the reserved chickpeas, and cucumbers. Enjoy!
Nutrition
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
Did you make this recipe? Please rate & comment below.
Delicious and easy to make.
Thank you Rebecca! xTieghan
This is the best recipe I have made in ages. My curry was thick enough that I didn’t even need rice and the halloumi was a revelation. Made a big batch for work meal prep and it will definitely be going into regular rotation.
Thank you so much Lauren!! That is so amazing to hear! xTieghan
Wowsa! This is going into rotation. I know because my husband said “you gotta make this again” as he was eating right from the pot. You made three people’s tummies very happy.
Amazing! Thank you so much for trying this Julie! xTieghan
Wonderful recipe! We added a jalapeño for some added spice and I didn’t include cucumber, but otherwise I followed the recipe. Only thing I wish I would have done differently was to thin the sauce some more; I wanted more to be able to dip the cheese into!
Ah that is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this Megan! xTieghan
Do you have a recommendation if I can’t find halloumi? Can I fry Feta? I don’t want to omit it entirely since it seems like this dish really benefits from the texture contrast.
Hi Alexandra! Yes, feta works great! It doesn’t cook up exactly the same, but still delish! Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you! xTieghan
Such an easy and delicious one pot meal (if you don’t make the halloumi like me). This recipe is great for the summer time in that it uses any fresh produce you have access too and is very pantry friendly! I could also see this being a great winter recipe and swapping out frozen veggies instead! I only had zucchini to use as a veggie and still loved it, would love to try with some fresh August summer corn soon! I also did not have a shallot, so I used a yellow onion that I needed to use up. Still loved it! Great Recipe!
Thank you so much Julianna! So glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
This is my new favorite standby. I’ve been going to the farmer’s market every Sunday with this recipe in mind. Thank you!
Thank you so much Jennifer! So glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
Just made this for lunch because it looked so amazing and I didn’t want to wait for dinner! Also, this was my first time trying halloumi and holy. cow. it is incredible, especially paired with the curry! I was skeptical of the tahini at first but it is such a nice addition to the dish. Creamy but not overpowering in flavor. I think, like someone else, my tahini separated in the sauce, so it didn’t turn out as lovely as yours but it still tastes incredible!!!
So glad you tried this and it turned out amazing for you! Thank you so much Alexandra! xTieghan
Finally a “cooler” Colorado summer day, which called for this dish! Such a yummy recipe, so easy, and so much flavor. It’s a warm bowl of summer vegetables and deliciousness
Thank you so much Alyssa! So glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
Yet another HBH dish I loved! Made this last night and it was a fun dinner to do with my boyfriend. We really enjoyed it. I had the same issue with a “grainy” texture but it in my way affected the flavor. Next time I might add some potatoes or red pepper to change things up. Oddly, it’s really hard to find halloumi in my neck of the woods (odd since I live in the cheese state – Wisconsin!) so we used regular cow’s milk grilling cheese and it was good but I enjoy the slightly unique, tangy flavor of halloumi.
So glad you both loved this Carolyn! That is so funny that its hard to find there! You would not think that.. But I am glad it turned out amazing still! xTieghan
Thanks for another family favorite! Easy to throw together, delicious, and healthy!
Thank you Jill! xTieghan
I made this today and it was sooooo good! I used almond coconut butter instead of tahini (couldn’t find it my store) but it tasted just fine – nice nutty flavor. I used a lot of cayenne and it had a good gentle heat. Skipped the cheese. I was pleasantly surprised by the cucumbers on top! I’m not usually a big cucumber fan but they were so good and added a nice crunch and zing.
Thanks for the recipe!
Thank you so much Pearl! I am so glad you loved this recipe! xTieghan
My friends and I made this on a whim last night, it was freaking delicious! I would say it takes a bit longer than 25 minutes with all the prep work…and make sure you have someone that knows how to cut ginger (peel it!). The 1/2 tsp gave this dish a pretty good kick so dial back if you’re sensitive. Make this!! It’s bomb.
So glad you and your friends loved this Bre! And so fun you all made it together! I love that! Thank you so much! xTieghan
Loved this soup. Great flavors. Will make it again
Yes! So happy to hear that Nancy! Thank you! xTieghan
Just made this so good! We added a handful of leftover chicken. Will be making again for sure.
Thank you so much Tanya! So happy to hear that! xTieghan