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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.
This would be more of a British Indian dish. Indians do not use curry powder.
Yum!!! This was my first attempt at this recipe and any curry recipe. I’m one happy convert and love adding a meat free option into my recipe repertoire. I agree with previous comments that it took longer than stated but with a toddler and baby and trying a new recipe always seems to take longer for me. 🤷🏻♀️
Hey Lauren,
Happy Monday!! I appreciate you making this recipe and sharing your feedback, so glad it turned out well for you:)
How could I make this with tinned corn?
Hi Ruth,
Just drain the corn and follow the recipe as written:) Please let me know if you have any other questions, I hope this turns out well for you! xx
The family liked this, especially the resident vegetarian. It took WAY longer than stated, but it’s definitely a great mesh of interesting flavors. Only used 1/4 tsp cayenne but the kick was still too high so threw in a little honey and upped the curry powder. The fried haloumi and cucumber slices are key with this!
Hey Kate,
Thanks a lot for giving this recipe a try, sorry to hear this took longer than expected! Hope you’re having a great day! xx
LOVED this one! We traded the chickpeas for shredded chicken and it turned out great!
Hey Sarah,
Thanks so much for your feedback and trying this recipe out! I love to hear that it was a hit:) Have the best weekend?
This is delicious!! It did come out a little watery. Do I use No or little water the next time I make this?
Hi Allie,
Amazing!! I am so glad to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks so much for making it and sharing your feedback:) I would just reduce your water next time!
This meal was INCREDIBLE!!! I loved every bite and it was even better leftover. As always knocked it out of the park!!
Hi Kiley,
Happy Friday! Thanks for giving this recipe a go, I love to hear that it was a winner! ? xx
Delicious, simple curry! So perfect after yoga on a warm summer night. Added bamboo shoots 🙂
Hi Gretchen,
Thanks for your comment and making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! Hope you’re off to a great week! ? xT
I love this recipe. I’ve honestly made it four or five times at this point, and love throwing in our random veggies on hand. Carrots, sweet potatoes, romanesco are all delicious. Also I would never have thought to serve it with sweet pickles but now I can’t have it without. Thank you for a delicious go-to.
Hey Serena,
Happy Friday!! Thanks a bunch for trying this recipe and sharing your review. I love that it was enjoyed!! Happy 4th of July weekend!??
Thank you for a new favorite summer dish! My husband and I both love curry – as I was making this he was working upstairs and I knew it was a winner when he yelled down “that sounds amazing!!”
It was simple but didn’t taste like it was. Super filling and so healthy yet indulgent at the same time. My garden zucchini and corn will see a lot of this dish this summer!!
Hey Kristen,
Awesome!! Love to hear that this recipe was a hit, thanks for making it and sharing your feedback!! Thanks for your kind message:)
Made this last night and it was great! Even my wife, who’s not a fan of curry, loved how all these flavors blended together. The sweetness of the grilled corn (I cooked my corn in the oven and got the char by using the boiler at the end) was a very nice touch and really added to the dish. We’re a family of runners so this was a great post run meal! Will definitely
make it again. You do such a great job with your recipes, please keep them coming.
Hey Dan,
Thank you so much for your kind message and giving so many recipes a try!! Love to hear that this one was enjoyed by your family:) Have a great day! xTieghan
A good recipe, I added some garam masala and extra turmeric to give it some pop. I also used limes instead of lemons, lime is more fitting a flavor for a curry. I added the veggies during the simmer, otherwise they would have been much too soft. Adding them during the simmer preserved some of the crunch so they weren’t a mushy mess.
Hi Deanna,
Happy Wednesday!! Thanks a bunch for making this recipe, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! Thanks for sharing what you added to the dish.? xTieghan
Just made this dinner tonight and it was absolutely spectacular! It’s probably one of my favorite recipes now and I can’t wait to make it again. The squeaky fried halloumi was similar to a paneer cheese, and paired perfectly with the spice of the curry! The cold cucumber added a nice touch to the dish as it served well to cut down some of the heat. Thank you so much for sharing!
Hey Nicole,
Thank you so much for giving this recipe a try, I love to hear that it was enjoyed!! xTieghan
Made as directed. Really delicious. Even my very picky, vegetarian mother-in-law said this was like eating at a gourmet restaurant.
Hi Leigh,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for your review:) Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xx
I cut back the curry a bit as my husband isn’t a huge fan. Added golden raisins and should have pickled the cukes a bit. My son loved it!
Hi Gwen,
Awesome!! Thanks so much for your review:) Love to hear that this recipe was enjoyed, thanks for giving it a try! xx