The Tastiest Halloumi Chickpea Curry Ever

The Tastiest Halloumi & Chickpea Curry

Never thought of using Halloumi in a Curry.

This was inspired by my good pal Steve (Waller) who cooked this up on NYE (but used a jar of ready made paste from a TV chef, I’ll say no more!).

I thought I can make that without using a jar and fresh ingredients.

So here it is!

The Tastiest Halloumi, chickpea Curry ever! So easy and so tasty. The tamarind paste gives it a lovely sweet, tangy taste and combined with the coconut milk a great balance with loads of Garlic and Chilli. It’s a big fave for the Veggies in the family.

This serves 4-6 easily. You can always only use one block of Halloumi too, works just as well…

 Main Ingredients

• 2 x 225g blocks of halloumi – Chopped into equal chunks
• 1x Tin of Coconut Milk
• 1x Tin of Chickpeas – Drained

Masala Base Paste – to be made with patience & love

• 1 x Onion whizzed
• 3 x Tblsps of Cooking Oil
• Chilli/Ginger/garlic paste (Whizz all of the below into a paste)
  • 2-3 fresh green chillies
  • 6-8 cloves of garlic
  • 1 x Lge thumb of ginger
• Good pinch of Salt
• 1 Tsp of Tumeric
• 2-3 Tsps of Grd Coriander & Cumin
• 1 Tsp of Manibens Family Garam Masala
• 1 Tsp Red Chilli (Optional)
• 250g Tomato passata
• Few squeezes of Tomato Puree
• 3-4 Tablespoons of Tamarind paste

Other Spices(Optional)

• 2 Green Cardamom
• 2-3 Cloves
• 1 stick of cinnamon

[Note: If you don’t have the above spices or only have some them, don’t worry, your curry will still taste great]

Marinate the Halloumi in the following paste

• Juice of Lime
• Few glugs of Olive Oil
• 1 tsp turmeric
• 1 tsp’s of Ground coriander & Cumin
• Good pinch of
• Salt & pepper
• Red chilli powder
• Maniben’s Family Garam Masala
• 2-3 Tsps of Cornflour just before frying

Follow these quick & easy steps to make this tasty, tangy, spicy vegetarian curry

 Marinate your chopped halloumi in the Paste above and set aside in the fridge while making your base masala

1. Heat oil in large deep non-stick saucepan or a big Wok with the cloves, green cardamom, and cinnamon stick (if you don’t have any or all of these spices don’t worry but they do enhance the flavour and worth adding if you have some or all of them)
2. Add the whizzed onions, on a med heat and soften and brown for approx 10 mins, stirring occasionally, do not let them burn!
3. Add the Chilli/Ginger/Garlic paste and keep stirring for approx 10 mins (do not let it stick or burn the pan, you may want to slightly lower the heat)
4. Add the tomato passata and all the spices and Cook on a med heat for approx 15 mins continually stirring until mixture turns into a thick paste. The base masala paste is now ready and you’ve done a lot of the hard work.
5. Coat your halloumi in the cornflour and shallow fry – wont take too long about 5mins. Ensure to keep turning so they crisp evenly on all sides – Tongs will help for this don’t use your fingers like I did!!
6. Throw your shallow fried halloumi into your masala paste and mix, add the tin of Coconut milk and chickpeas, give another good stir and simmer for 10 mins
7. Garnish with chopped coriander, squeeze of lime and serve with your fave warm buttery Naan and rice.

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