Quick-Cooking Vegan Skillet Curry Recipe with Spiced Chickpeas and Apricots

It doesn’t take much skill or time to make this tasty curry, so you can quickly feed those hungry mouths.

This curry recipe with chickpeas and apricots was born just before my weekly trip to the local farmers market. In other words: my cupboards were bare, but I had hungry mouths to feed. With a stock of beans in the pantry and a few other ingredients, I came up with a simple and easy curry that’s sweet, spicy, and tangy. You’d never know it was a desperate attempt at a meal!

As with any curry recipe, you can alter the heat to your liking. Sometimes I’m in the mood for a curry that’s tongue scorching, and other times I like it a bit less hot. The sweetness of the apricot offsets the heat just enough that I make this one a bit on the fiery side with mustard, ginger, and cayenne. The key for me is to always start with less and amp up the cayenne spice as I go along. If you like it less fiery, you can omit the cayenne altogether, especially if you’re using a curry blend that’s on the hotter side.

This curry recipe uses a generic “curry blend” seasoning that you can find in a number of forms. You can also make your own curry blend with turmeric, ginger powder, mustard powder, coriander, and cardamom.

Skillet Curry Recipe with Chickpeas and Apricots

Serves 4

Ingredients:

• 15 ounces cooked chickpeas
• 1 large carrot, finely diced
• 1 medium stalk celery, finely diced
• 1 large tomato, chopped
• 2 tablespoons untoasted sesame oil
• ½ cup low sodium vegetable broth
• ½ cup unsulfured dried apricots, finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon mustard seeds
• 1-inch ginger freshly grated or chopped
• 2 teaspoons curry powder
• ¼ teaspoon cayenne powder
• ½ teaspoon salt
• ¼ cup fresh cilantro leaves, chopped

Directions:

In a large skillet, toast mustard seeds over medium heat until they begin to pop—about 3 minutes. Add sesame oil and ginger and cook another 2 minutes. Add celery and carrots and cook until the carrots are slightly tender, about 5 minutes. Stir frequently.

Turn down the heat to medium-low and add tomato, chickpeas, curry powder, cayenne, salt, broth, and apricots. Mix well, cover, and let cook about 10 minutes. Remove lid and let cook another 3–5 minutes.

Remove from heat, serve over basmati rice, and sprinkle the cilantro leaves on top.

Find Jill on Twitter @jillettinger

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