Winter is the season for hearty dishes that warm you from your head to your toes and that's exactly what this Chickpea Beef Curry and Rice will do! It's pure comfort food and it's a snap to turn it into a filling vegan curry too!
This recipe is sponsored by USA Rice Canada. For more great rice recipe ideas visit Riceinfo.com.
Chickpea Beef Curry and Rice is a dish that I've been making for years. It's one of those recipes that's so flexible, so forgiving, very pantry friendly and always delicious. Want to make it vegan or really budget friendly? Ditch the beef and add more chickpeas. Not a chickpea fan but you love your meat? You can ditch the chickpeas and add in more beef.
Feeding a crowd? Double the recipe.
Got leftovers? Turn them into wraps for lunch or an extra dinner.
Tight on time? Meal prep it, divide it and then freeze it into meal sized portions - although it does cook up quickly for a fast weeknight meal!
Whatever you decide to do it's really hard to mess it up. It's still going to taste really good! It's full of vegetables, fibre and protein making it a great weeknight or weekend meal
To Mix In The Rice or Not To Mix In the Rice?
I have a confession to make - I always mix the rice right into the curry mixture before serving but it looks prettier in photos if you serve the curry on top of the rice! Either way it really doesn't matter. But, if you're going to freeze it in meal sized portions I highly recommend mixing the rice in with the curry before portioning it out. Just add 2 tablespoons of water in when you reheat it. You'll want to add a small amount of water to reheated leftovers as well.
I prefer basmati rice with this curry but you can make this with whatever rice you have on hand - basmati, jasmine, long grain, brown. All of them will work just fine - this dish really is a pantry workhorse! Whichever type you choose, use this handy guide to ensure you have the right liquid to rice ratio.
Recipe Notes
As I mentioned before, this is a very forgiving recipe and one you can tweak. If you like more heat than mild curry paste gives, use a medium or hot curry paste.
You can increase the amount of fresh cilantro if you're a cilantro lover.
You can easily double the recipe by doubling all the ingredients but you will want to cook the beef in two separate batches to ensure proper browning and good flavour.
If you want extra carbs (because... winter...) serve it with some warm naan.
Vegan Option
To make the recipe vegan, simply remove the beef. Add in a full 540ml can of rinsed chickpeas for a filling vegan chickpea curry.
- 2 tbsp canola or vegetable oil
- 0.5kg beef sirloin grilling or marinating steak sliced into thin stir fry strips
- 3 cloves of garlic, crushed
- 2 tbsp mild curry paste (go hotter if you like)
- 1 395ml can of diced tomatoes
- 1 cup of rinsed canned chickpeas
- ½ cup fresh chopped cilantro
- 2-3 packed cups of baby spinach leaves
- ⅓ cup of coarsely chopped cashew nuts
- 1 cup of uncooked rice of your choice
- salt and pepper to taste
- Start cooking the rice as per your rice cooker's instructions or if using the stovetop method follow these guidelines depending on the variety of rice you're using.
- Heat oil in a large skillet or dutch oven on medium high heat
- Season beef strips with salt and pepper and then add to the hot pan with crushed garlic. Stir fry the beef until browned. Remove from the pan and set aside.
- Add curry paste to the hot pan and cook, stirring constantly until the paste becomes fragrant (about 1 minute)
- Add diced tomatoes and juices and about ⅓ cup of water. Stir into the curry paste and then let simmer, uncovered for about 10 minutes. Stir occasionally.
- Once the tomato curry mixture has thickened, add in chickpeas, cilantro and beef and stir until heated through.
- Add the spinach - the spinach will overwhelm the pan but don't worry, it will shrink down quickly. Cook until spinach is just wilted.
- Serve on top of the cooked rice and garnish with roasted cashews and any extra cilantro.
The recipe can easily be doubled to feed a crowd but you'll want to cook the beef in two batches so it browns quickly
If you like cilantro feel free to up the amount
If you like a hotter curry, use a different curry paste.
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- Riceinfo.com for great recipe ideas, nutrition info and cooking and storage information.
More Reading
- Easy Side Dish: Fragrant Cilantro Rice with Paneer and Peas
- Rice Done Seven Ways
- Roasted Veggie Miso Rice Bowl
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