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Coconut chickpea curry with greens with tahini dressing
youryum.com/recipes/coconut-chickpea-curry-with-greens-with-tahini-dressing · serves 4

A creamy curry finished with a nutty lemon drizzle

A coconut chickpea curry gets a second kind of creaminess from lemon tahini, which is spooned over the top rather than cooked into the pot.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • Gluten free
  • Dairy free
Maren Ashby in her kitchen, in a dark apron, looking away from the camera
By Maren Ashby · Writes and tests everything here
Published 4 July 2026
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Coconut chickpea curry with greens and lemon tahini
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Prep
15 min
Cook
25 min
Total
40 min
Serves
4
Per serving
468kcal
Effort
Easy

Tahini and coconut milk are both rich, but they do not make the same kind of richness. Coconut milk rounds out the curry while it cooks; tahini brings roasted sesame and a little bitterness when it is loosened with lemon. Keep the dressing out of the pot and the two flavours stay distinct.

The dressing takes less than a minute. Add water slowly and it will turn from a thick paste into a pale ribbon that runs over the chickpeas without disappearing.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Curry

Tahini dressing

Equipment

  • Wide saucepan
  • Small bowl
  • Fine grater

Method

  1. Cook the onion

    Heat the oil in a wide saucepan. Add the onion and salt and cook over medium heat for eight minutes, until it is soft and golden in places. Do not rush this with high heat; the browned edges add sweetness to a curry that has no tomato.

  2. Fry the spice paste

    Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Stir for two minutes. The mixture will become dry-looking as the spices absorb the oil. Add a tablespoon of stock if it begins to catch, then keep stirring until the raw garlic smell is gone.

    Hands grating garlic over a toasted spice paste for chickpea curry

  3. Simmer until thick

    Tip in the chickpeas, coconut milk and stock. Bring to a gentle simmer and cook uncovered for 15 minutes. Stir once or twice. The sauce should coat a spoon but still move easily around the chickpeas.

    If it becomes thick before the chickpeas are hot, add a splash of water. Thick is not the same as cooked.

  4. Add the spinach

    Stir in the spinach in two additions. Wait for the first handful to collapse before adding the second. Cook for two minutes, then turn off the heat. Taste the curry; the dressing has salt and lemon, so season the pot lightly.

  5. Loosen the tahini

    Put the tahini, lemon juice, garlic and salt in a bowl. Stir in the water one tablespoon at a time. It may seize into a thick ball after the first spoonful; keep adding water and it will become smooth again. Stop when it falls from the spoon in a thin line.

  6. Finish each bowl

    Spoon the curry into warm bowls and drizzle with the tahini. Drag the spoon once across the surface rather than mixing it through. Serve with rice or flatbread, and add more lemon at the table if the coconut milk is especially sweet.

What's in it

Nutrition, buying and storage notes for the ingredients this recipe leans on.

Yellow onions 89.1 g water Chickpeas 8.9 g protein
Chickpeas coconut milk tahini spinach lemon garlic and spices on a counter
The tahini stays separate so its toasted sesame flavour remains clear.

Why the tahini is a drizzle

Stir tahini into a bubbling coconut sauce and it loses the quality that makes it interesting. The sesame becomes another thickener, and the lemon gets cooked into a vague sourness. On top, the dressing stays nutty and bright. Each bite can pick up a little or a lot.

The water needs to go in gradually. Tahini often seizes when acid first hits it, which makes people think it has split. It has not. Keep stirring and add water by the tablespoon until the paste relaxes.

A curry without tomatoes

Tomato is a natural source of acidity in many chickpea curries, but it is not required. Here the lemon in the dressing does that work at the end, while coconut milk gives the sauce its body. The result is softer in colour and less sharp, with enough contrast from garlic and toasted cumin.

If your coconut milk tastes sweet, do not compensate with extra salt alone. Lemon in the dressing is what brings the bowl into focus.

Nutrition

Per serving, for 4 servings. Estimated from ingredient weights — it moves with the brands and cuts you actually use.

NutrientPer serving
Calories 468 kcal
Protein 16 g
Carbohydrate 49 g
Fibre 12 g
Fat 25 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use sunflower seed butter instead of tahini?
Yes, use the same quantity. The dressing will be less bitter and slightly sweeter, so add lemon to taste.
Can I make the dressing ahead?
Make it up to two days ahead and refrigerate it. It thickens when cold; bring it out and whisk in water before serving.
Can I put kale in this curry?
Yes. Add finely sliced kale with the chickpeas and give it 10 minutes to soften before you make the dressing.
Does tahini contain dairy?
Plain tahini is ground sesame and contains no dairy. Check the label if you are buying a flavoured or prepared dressing.

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