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Coconut chickpea curry with greens with warm flatbread
youryum.com/recipes/coconut-chickpea-curry-with-greens-with-warm-flatbread · serves 4

A scoopable coconut curry for tearing and dipping

Keep this coconut chickpea curry thick enough for flatbread to scoop, with greens folded through just before the pan leaves the heat.

  • Vegan
  • Vegetarian
  • 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 9 July 2026
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Coconut chickpea curry with greens and warm flatbread
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Prep
10 min
Cook
25 min
Total
35 min
Serves
4
Per serving
486kcal
Effort
Easy

Rice makes a curry feel like a bowl; flatbread makes it something you can gather up. I cook this version a little thicker, then warm the breads in a dry pan while the chickpeas finish. The edges of the bread catch the sauce, and there is no need to make a second side dish.

Use shop-bought naan, roti or pita. The curry has enough flavour already, so choose a plain bread and spend your time getting the onion properly soft.

Ingredients

Makes 4 servings

Curry

To serve

Equipment

  • Wide saucepan
  • Dry frying pan
  • Fine grater

Method

  1. Soften the onion

    Heat the oil in a wide saucepan over medium heat. Add the onion and salt and cook for eight minutes. Stir until the pieces are soft and a few edges are gold. The onion should almost melt into the sauce later.

  2. Toast the aromatics

    Add the garlic, ginger, cumin, coriander and turmeric. Cook for two minutes, stirring constantly. If the base looks dry, loosen it with a splash of stock. You want the spices toasted, not burnt.

    Hands warming flatbread in a dry pan beside simmering chickpea curry

  3. Make a thick curry

    Add the chickpeas, coconut milk and stock. Simmer uncovered for 15 minutes. Use the back of the spoon to crush six or seven chickpeas against the side of the pan. The extra starch makes the sauce cling to bread rather than run off it.

    If you are serving rice instead, use the full 250 ml stock and leave the chickpeas whole.

  4. Finish with greens

    Stir in the spinach and cook for two minutes, until just wilted. Turn off the heat and add the lime juice. Taste and adjust the salt. The sauce should be thick, but not dry enough to drag when you lift a spoon.

  5. Warm the bread

    Heat a dry frying pan over medium-high heat. Warm each flatbread for 30 to 45 seconds on each side, until flexible with a few toasted patches. Stack them under a clean tea towel while you finish the rest.

    Do not oil the pan. Oil makes the bread crisp before it warms through, and you want it soft enough to fold.

  6. Serve for scooping

    Bring the curry to the table in its saucepan or a warm bowl, topped with coriander. Tear the flatbread into pieces and scoop from the edge of the curry inward. The last mouthful should still have sauce on it.

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 flatbreads onion ginger lime and spices arranged
Plain flatbread is all this curry needs beside it.

Cook for the bread you have

A curry for rice should flow. A curry for bread should hold its shape long enough for a piece to pick it up. Crushing a few chickpeas gives you that thickness without adding flour or cooking the coconut milk until it splits. The change is small but useful.

Do not mash half the pot. Too much broken chickpea makes the sauce pasty and hides the whole beans. Six or seven is enough for four servings.

Warming flatbread without drying it

A dry pan gives bread toasted spots and keeps it flexible. High heat is helpful, but only when you watch the bread. Once it puffs or darkens, turn it. Leaving it there while you answer a message creates a crisp, brittle edge that tears when you scoop.

Stack the warm breads and cover them with a tea towel. The small amount of trapped steam keeps them bendy. A sealed plastic bag does the same thing but leaves them damp.

Nutrition

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

NutrientPer serving
Calories 486 kcal
Protein 16 g
Carbohydrate 69 g
Fibre 11 g
Fat 19 g

Source: Estimated from ingredient weights, USDA FoodData Central

Questions

Can I use naan with dairy?
Yes, if dairy is part of your diet. Check the label because plain naan varies; the curry itself contains no dairy.
Can I use tortillas?
Small flour tortillas work as a soft scoop, and corn tortillas give a firmer, gluten-free option. Warm them briefly so they do not crack.
Can I make the curry less thick?
Yes. Skip the mashing and use 250 ml stock instead of 200 ml. It will be better with rice than with bread.
Can I prepare the curry ahead?
Make the curry up to three days ahead and refrigerate it. Reheat gently with a splash of stock, then add fresh lime and greens if needed.

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