A warming Indian home-cooked curry made from scratch
Serves 4 | Easy | Approx. 40 minutes
There's Indian food you order from a restaurant.
And then there's the food that is actually cooked every day in Indian homes.
This recipe belongs to the second kind.
A pot of chickpeas gently cooked with onion, ginger, garlic, tomatoes, coconut and warming spices. Nothing complicated. Nothing ready-made. Just simple ingredients, a little patience and the small cooking secrets our grandmothers rarely wrote down.
Because Grandma never really gave you a recipe. She'd say:
"Thoda jeera… thodi haldi… aur pyaaz ko achhe se pakne dena."
A little cumin, a little turmeric… and make sure you cook those onions properly.
Today, we're going to translate that into a recipe anyone can cook. And if you've never cooked Indian food from scratch before, this is a lovely place to start.
🛒 Ingredients
For the Chickpeas
- 250g dried chickpeas
- 1 large onion
- 400g chopped tomatoes
- 200ml coconut milk
- 20g fresh ginger
- 3–4 cloves fresh garlic
- 1 green chilli
- Small handful fresh coriander
- 2 tbsp organic cow ghee
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 2 tsp coriander powder
- ½–1 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
- 1 tsp garam masala
- Salt to taste
- Water as required
For the Rice
- 300g Tilda Pure Basmati Rice
- Water
- Salt, optional
Important: Dried chickpeas need soaking. Put them into plenty of cold water the night before and leave them to soak for 8–12 hours.
👵 Now Let's Cook
Step 1 — Soak the Chickpeas
The night before you plan to cook, rinse 250g dried chickpeas and place them in a large bowl with plenty of cold water. They'll expand considerably, so be generous with the water.
The following day, drain and rinse them.
👵 Grandma's Secret
Don't rush dried chickpeas. Soaking them overnight gives you a completely different cooking experience from simply opening a tin — and preparing tomorrow's meal the night before is exactly the sort of rhythm traditional home cooking was built around.
Step 2 — Cook Your Chickpeas
Place the soaked chickpeas into a saucepan or pressure cooker with fresh water. Cook until completely tender — soft enough to eat comfortably but still retaining their shape.
Drain, reserving some of the cooking water.
👵 Grandma's Secret
Never throw all that chickpea water away. Keep a cup beside you. If the curry becomes too thick later, use this instead of plain water.
🧨 Step 3 — This Is Where the Curry Begins
Place a heavy pan over medium heat and add 2 tablespoons of organic cow ghee.
Once warm, add 1 teaspoon cumin seeds. Listen. They'll begin to crackle and release their aroma into the ghee.
That smell is the beginning of your curry.
Now add the finely chopped onion. Cook gently until it becomes beautifully golden.
👵 Grandma's Secret
This is one of the most important lessons in Indian cooking: Don't rush your onions. You're not simply softening them — you're building the foundation of the curry. Give them time.
Step 4 — Ginger, Garlic & Chilli
Add your finely chopped or crushed ginger, garlic and green chilli. Cook for another minute or two. You'll notice the aroma in the kitchen change almost immediately. Don't let the garlic burn.
🌶️ Step 5 — Wake Up the Spices
Lower the heat slightly. Add:
Stir the spices into the onion mixture. If everything looks too dry, add a small splash of your reserved chickpea water.
👵 Grandma's Secret
Spices need cooking too. Don't simply add powdered spices and immediately pour liquid over them. Give them a little time with the ghee, onion, ginger and garlic — that's how you begin releasing their flavour.
🍅 Step 6 — Build the Masala
Add the chopped tomatoes and salt. Now cook. And cook a little longer.
You want the tomatoes to lose their rawness and become part of the onion-and-spice mixture. You'll eventually see the masala becoming darker, richer and more cohesive.
👵 Grandma's Secret
Grandma didn't use a timer for this. She watched the pan. When the tomatoes have broken down and the masala looks glossy and cooked rather than watery and raw, you're ready for the next step.
🥥 Step 7 — Bring It Together
Add your cooked chickpeas and stir them thoroughly through the masala. Allow them to cook together for a few minutes.
Now add approximately 200ml coconut milk and enough reserved chickpea water to reach the consistency you like.
Bring everything to a gentle simmer. Cook for approximately 10–15 minutes, allowing the chickpeas to absorb all those flavours. Taste. Adjust the salt if required.
🌿 Step 8 — The Finishing Touch
Turn the heat low. Add 1 teaspoon garam masala. Finish with freshly chopped coriander.
Then switch off the heat and leave the curry covered for 5 minutes before serving.
👵 Grandma's Secret
Garam masala doesn't always need long cooking. Adding it towards the end preserves more of its beautiful aroma.
And that five-minute rest? Give your curry a moment before you eat it. Some things improve when you simply leave them alone for a few minutes.
🍚 Don't Forget the Rice
Wash 300g Tilda Pure Basmati Rice several times in cold water until the water becomes clearer. Soak for around 20 minutes, then drain.
Cook using your preferred absorption or saucepan method until the grains are long, fluffy and separate. Let the cooked rice rest covered for a few minutes before gently fluffing it with a fork.
Now spoon the rice onto four plates and add a generous helping of your coconut chickpea curry. Finish with a little fresh coriander.
And then comes the best part.
You made it. From scratch. ❤️
👵 One Last Secret From Grandma
Indian home cooking isn't about making everything fiery hot. It's about building flavour in layers.
The ghee. Then cumin. Then onions. Then ginger and garlic. Then spices. Then tomatoes.
Each ingredient gets its moment.
Once you understand that, Indian cooking suddenly becomes much less mysterious.
And that's exactly what Kitchen Secrets is about.
🛒 Ready to Cook It?
There are two ways to make this recipe with Curry Kart.
Already have some ingredients at home? Shop individually at www.currykart.co.uk — use the search bar to find exactly what you're missing, from Tilda Basmati Rice and chickpeas to coconut milk, organic cow ghee and fresh ingredients.
Or let us do the shopping for you.
📦 Grandma's Coconut Chickpea Curry Kit
We've brought the ingredients for this recipe together into one convenient Curry Kit — fresh ingredients carefully packed for their journey, full-size Indian pantry products and everything you need to discover authentic Indian home cooking.
No searching for unfamiliar ingredients. No wondering what to buy.
Open the box. Follow Grandma's Kitchen Secrets. And cook.
£34.99 | Serves 4
💚 Kitchen Secrets by Curry Kart
We source it. We pack it. We deliver it. You cook it. ❤️
More from the kitchen: try our Lauki Chana Dal & Masala Chaas — another wholesome recipe straight from Grandma's kitchen.
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