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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.
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.
Servings: 4 4
Calories Per Serving: 1225 kcal
Nutritional information is only an estimate. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed.
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!
Wow! I made this tonight, for the first time, and it turned out vibrant and colorful and absolutely delicious. Thank you! Instructions were clear and on point. Used basil instead of cilantro just because that’s what I had on hand. Loved the cucumber recommendation. Thank you for another great recipe! I’m looking forward to leftovers, as well as making this again and again.
That is so great to hear! Thank you for trying this one, Britni! xTieghan
What an amazing meal! My family really loved this. Was a first time for all of us with Halloumi cheese and topped off the curry so well.
Yum, yum, yum.
Thank you Brittany!! xTieghan
Omg, this is such an amazing recipe! I’ve always been intimidated to try a curry dish but this one was easy and DELICIOUS. I didn’t add the tahini because I’m not a fan of the peanut butter flavor in dishes and I would still 10/10 recommend! I’ve already sent this recipe to 3 of my friends. Side note: I served this over black Thai rice and it gave it a more exotic look!
I am so glad this one turned out so well for you, Dru!! Thank you so much for trying it! xTieghan
This was so fantastic. I’ve never fried halloumi before but man was it good. This was so balanced and flavorful. My four year old loved it and my husband didn’t even miss the meat 🙂 Thanks!!
That is so amazing to hear! Thank you for trying this one, Kristen! xTieghan
This was super easy and it was delish!
Thank you!
I am so happy to hear that! Thank you so much for trying this Debbie! xTieghan
Hi, I’m planning to make this recipe soon!
What was it that you drizzled onto the curry at the very end of the video?
Hi Yuka,
A little olive oil. I hope you love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
So yummy! The fried cheese (we used grilling cheese bc our store didn’t have halloumi) was the star of the show.l, and the chickpeas and everything else were so good!! Thanks for this awesome recipe!! My husband and I both raved. about it.
Love that! Thank you so much for trying this one, Marien! xTieghan
This was amazing! We loved it!
Thank you Pam! xTieghan
Made this last night! it was easy to follow, and so so delicious! Definitely going to be part of the family favorite! 🙂
Love to hear that! Thank you so much Shaherose! xTieghan
This was my first half baked harvest recipe and it was to die for!!! I have never cooked with coconut milk and ginger (I actually thought I didn’t like coconut milk… glad to find out that’s not exactly true). The flavors this recipe pushes together and creates has made it one of my top 3 favs.
I made a couple subs: used cauliflower, sweet peppers, and spinach for my veggies. Didn’t have tahini, but I used crushed sunflower seeds I also added some slices of avocado for garnish.
Thank you for this amazing recipe!! ?
Hi April! I am so glad you loved this! Especially as your first recipe of mine! I hope you continue to love all the others you try! xTieghan
My husband loves curry dishes so I decided to treat him and try to make this dish. Used 1 zucchini and 2 ears of corn. The recipe was easy to follow and turned out so tasty! Thank you for making me into a curry fan!
Thank you Nadine!! That is so great to hear! I hope you continue to love all the curry recipes I have up! xTieghan
I cooked this tonight and it curdled. Any idea why that happened? The coconut milk was not expired, so I don’t know what happened.
Hey Barbara, what brand coconut milk are you using? And did you boil the milk? Brands can vary, I like to use Thai Kitchens. And then sometimes if the coconut milk boils too long it will curdle up on you. Next time try cooking the coconut milk at a slightly lower heat. I think this will help!
Please let me know if you have any other questions. I hope you love this recipe! Thank you!! xTieghan
Hi! I just found this recipe and want to make it for a friend who’s going through a difficult time right now. I don’t have halloumi on hand & was wondering if you could suggest any substitutions? Thanks! I can’t wait to make this!!!
Hi Patricia,
Feta would be a great substitute for the halloumi! I hope love the recipe, please let me know if you have any other questions! xTieghan
I didn’t have halloumi or zucchini – I subbed crispy tofu and green beans and it was perfect… can’t wait to try the original. Thanks for another awesome curry. As always, the crispy chickpeas were a hit!
Amazing! I am really happy to hear that Antoinette! xTieghan
Delicious and easy to make! I realized at the last minute that my husband had used all of the shallots. Added some onion powder (out of onions too) and it turned out really well! I also added a little palm sugar because that’s what I tend to do with curries. Anyway, this was really great. I’m adding it to the dinner rotation. Thank you!
Thank you Lisa!! I am really glad this recipe turned out so amazing for you! xTieghan