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Coconut chickpea curry with greens with toasted seeds
youryum.com/recipes/coconut-chickpea-curry-with-greens-with-toasted-seeds · serves 4

A soft chickpea curry with seeds that crackle

Toasted pumpkin and sesame seeds bring a dry, nutty crunch to a creamy coconut curry without adding another complicated dish.

  • 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 8 July 2026
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Coconut chickpea curry with greens and toasted pumpkin seeds
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Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Total
35 min
Serves
4
Per serving
452kcal
Effort
Easy

A creamy curry needs a bit of dry texture, especially when it is served with soft rice. Pumpkin and sesame seeds take five minutes in a dry pan and stay crunchy long enough to bring contrast to the whole table. Toast them while the chickpeas simmer, then keep them away from the steam.

The seeds are seasoned with lime zest and salt after toasting. Adding those before the pan heats makes the zest burn and the salt disappear into the oil.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Curry

Seed topping

Finish

Equipment

  • Wide saucepan
  • Small dry frying pan
  • Fine grater

Method

  1. Toast the seeds first

    Put the pumpkin and sesame seeds in a dry frying pan over medium heat. Toast for four to five minutes, shaking often, until the pumpkin seeds puff and the sesame smells warm. Tip them onto a plate straight away. The hot pan keeps cooking them after the heat is off.

  2. Build the spice base

    Heat the oil in a wide saucepan. Add the onion and salt, and cook for eight minutes until soft. Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric and stir for two minutes. The spice paste should be fragrant but not black.

    Hands tossing pumpkin and sesame seeds in a dry frying pan

  3. Simmer the chickpeas

    Add the chickpeas, coconut milk and stock. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes, stirring every few minutes. Press a few beans against the side of the pan to thicken the sauce, but leave most of them whole.

  4. Wilt and season

    Add the spinach and stir until collapsed, about two minutes. Turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Taste with a seed in mind; if the topping is salty, the curry needs to be a little gentler.

  5. Season the seeds

    Grate the lime zest over the toasted seeds and add the salt. Toss with your fingers. The zest should cling to the warm seeds rather than fall in one wet clump. Let them cool on the plate for a few minutes before you taste them; hot seeds seem saltier than they will be in the bowl.

  6. Keep the topping dry

    Spoon the curry into bowls and add the seed mixture at the very end. Serve with rice, flatbread or a plain grain. Pass extra seeds separately so they do not soften in the pot.

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 spinach pumpkin seeds sesame lime and spices ready to cook
The seed topping is small, but it gives the soft curry a different pace.

Seeds need their own pan

Adding seeds to the curry would make them absorb sauce and turn chewy. A dry pan gives them direct heat, so the pumpkin seeds puff and the sesame gets fragrant before either has time to soften. You need no oil because the seeds carry enough of their own fat.

Shake the pan instead of stirring with a spoon. Seeds roll; a spoon tends to push them into a hot line around the edge where they burn.

Lime zest after the heat

Lime zest is full of aromatic oil. Over a hot pan it can scorch quickly, but over warm seeds it sticks and perfumes the topping. Grate only the coloured skin. The white pith is bitter and has no useful brightness here.

There is lime in the curry as well, but the two additions do different work. Juice cuts through coconut milk; zest gives the seeds a smell you notice before the first bite.

Nutrition

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

NutrientPer serving
Calories 452 kcal
Protein 16 g
Carbohydrate 47 g
Fibre 12 g
Fat 24 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use only sesame seeds?
Yes, use 45 g sesame seeds and watch them closely because they toast faster than pumpkin seeds. Stir often and remove them when pale gold.
Are pumpkin seeds the same as pepitas?
Pepitas are the hulled green seeds usually sold for cooking. Unhulled pumpkin seeds also work but need a little longer and are harder to chew.
Can I toast the seeds in the oven?
Yes. Roast them at 170°C for eight minutes, shaking once. The dry frying pan is faster and makes it easier to stop at the right moment.
Can I add the seeds to leftovers?
Add them after reheating, not before storing. Keep them in a small dry container so the texture stays crisp.

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