Vegan Pumpkin Curry With Chickpeas

5 from 3 votes

Easy pumpkin curry recipe- Indian style rich, creamy yet light vegan and gluten free pumpkin curry with chickpeas. This whole recipe is made in one pot, I have used instant pot but you can easily use a pressure cooker or pan on stove top. So hearty, wholesome and delicious with piping hot steamed basmati rice. Perfect weeknight curry recipe, better than takeouts!

Prep Time10 mins

Cook Time20 mins

Total Time30 mins

Course: Main Course

Cuisine: American, Indian

Keyword: pumpkin chickpeas curry, pumpkin curry

Servings:

Calories: 358kcal

Author: Harini

Ingredients

2 tablespoons oil
1 teaspoon cumin seeds
1/2 cup chopped onions from 1 medium onion
2 teaspoons ginger garlic paste
2 cups peeled and cubed pumpkin or butternut squash 2 cups unsweetened pumpkin puree
1 cup tomato puree from 2 large tomatoes
1/2 teaspoon turmeric powder
2 tablespoons curry powder
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1 teaspoon red chili powder
salt to taste
200 ml coconut milk thick, unsweetened

Instructions

Place the inner pot inside your instant pot and switch on. Press saute button.
Once it displays hot, add 2 tablespoons oil.
Add cumin seeds, chopped onions and minced ginger garlic or paste. Saute for a minute.Add pumpkin or butternut squash cubes. Mix well and saute for a minute.
Stir in the tomato puree. Now in goes the curry powder, turmeric powder, red chili powder and garam masala powder.
Mix well and cook for 5-6 minutes. Once the tomatoes are well cooked, add 3/4 cup water and cover the instant pot. Cancel saute mode, press pressure cook button and seal the pressure valve. Pressure cook for 4 minutes.
Once done, release pressure manually and open the pot.Add the pre cooked chickpeas or chickpeas drained and rinsed from a can.
Mix and adjust consistency by adding 1/2 cup water if required. Add salt to taste. Simmer the curry for 4-6 minutes or until it thickens well. Cooked pumpkin will make the curry thick.
Finally stir in the coconut milk.Mix well and simmer for 2 minutes. Add chopped cilantro leaves and mix well. Serve pumpkin curry hot with rice.

Stove Top Instructions

To make this Indian style curry begin with heating a tablespoon oil in a pan or pressure cooker base.
Add cumin seeds, chopped onions and minced ginger garlic or ginger garlic paste. Add pumpkin cubes or puree and saute well. Stir in the tomato puree too. Next add all the spice powders, curry powder and salt. Mix well and cook for 7-8 minutes.
If you are using pumpkin cubes or butternut squash cubes , add 3/4 cup water, cover and cook in medium heat for 5-6 minutes. If you have pumpkin puree proceed to next step.
Once the tomato puree and pumpkin are well cooked, add the cooked chickpeas and mix. Simmer for 3-4 minutes. Adjust the consistency of the pumpkin curry by adding 1/2 to 1 cup water if needed.
Now stir in the thick coconut milk and simmer for 2-3 minutes. Add cilantro leaves and mix well. Remove from flame.

Notes

On cooking pumpkin- We are cooking pumpkin until it turns mushy in this curry. So if you are using pumpkin or butternut squash cubes, make sure to cook it thoroughly. No need to mash it separtely, it will get mushy on cooking.

I have used pumpkin cubes in this recipe, so the cook time is mentioned accordingly. If you are using pumpkin puree, sauteing it along with tomato puree will do.

On Chickpeas– In this recipe I have used cooked chickpeas that was leftover from another recipe. So I have just simmered it for 5 minutes which is also the time for canned chickpeas.

If you are using dry chickpeas, you will have to soak and drain it first. Then either cook it beforehand or add the chickpeas directly to the curry and pressure cook for 20 minutes.

On adding vegetables- You can add vegetables like potato, bell peppers in this recipe. Here are instructions in how to add them

potatoes– par boiled, peeled and cubed, add along with chickpeas

bell pepper– sliced thin red bell pepper, add along with chickpeas

Mushrooms– chopped, add along with onions and saute.

Nutrition