Chickpea curry and rice in a baking dish, shot from above

You guys seemed to really enjoy the one pot vegetarian chilli and rice bake I shared a couple of months back (was it really that long ago?!), and I don’t blame you. Vegetarian chilli and rice, complete with cheesy topping, all cooked in one big dish – what could be bad about that? There’s not even any pre-cooking required – throw all the raw ingredients (including uncooked rice!) into a dish, and stick it in the oven. An easy dinner that’s full of goodness.

A lovely reader suggested I make a curry version, which I thought was a brilliant idea – so this one pan chickpea curry and rice bake was born. A simple vegetable and chickpea curry with rice, all cooked up in one pan. Simples.

If you ever have any ideas for recipes that you’d love to see, please do let me know – I’m always happy to oblige!

Collage showing chickpea curry and rice bake in the baking dish and on a plate with yogurt

As with the chilli bake, this chickpea curry and rice bake involves no pre-cooking at all – you only need to spend a couple of minutes chopping vegetables, and it’s ready to go into the oven. I used mushrooms, a red onion, and a red pepper, along with a tin of tomatoes to help cook the rice, but you can switch up the veg if you like. Just remember that if you do go off-piste, and you use any particularly hard veg (carrots, for example), you may need to do a little bit of (shock horror) pre-cooking first.

Extreme close-up of chickpea curry and rice bake with vegetables

After an hour or so in the oven, you’ll have perfectly cooked rice and soft veggies – it’s a bit like a biryani really. Just scoop it out onto a plate, top it with some fresh coriander (cilantro), and dinner is sorted.

Portion of chickpea curry and rice bake on a plate with yogurt and poppadoms

This chickpea curry and rice bake doesn’t have a cheesy topping like my chilli bake did, so you may decide it needs a little something extra on the side to add a bit of interest. Here I added a dollop of plain yogurt, but some raita or a dollop of mango chutney would both work really well too! And don’t forget a few poppadoms for scooping.

Portion of chickpea curry and rice bake on a plate with yogurt and poppadoms, shot from above

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5 from 6 votes

One pan chickpea curry and rice bake

An easy dinner, prepared in minutes - just throw all the raw ingredients (including uncooked rice!) in a big baking dish, and bake. Chickpea curry and rice, done!
Prep Time: 15 mins
Cook Time: 1 hr
Total Time: 1 hr 15 mins
Servings: 4 people

Ingredients

  • 150  g  (~ 2/3 cup) uncooked long-grain white rice
  • 5  medium mushrooms,  diced fairly small
  • 400  g  tinned tomatoes  (~ 1 1/3 cups)
  • 400  g  tin chickpeas,  drained (240g, or ~ 1 1/4 cups, when drained)
  • 1 bell pepper, diced (I used red)
  • 1 red onion, diced
  • 2 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp ground coriander
  • 1 tsp ground cumin
  • 1 tsp smoked paprika
  • 1 tsp ground turmeric
  • Black pepper
  • 150  ml  (generous 1/2 cup) vegetable stock
  • To serve: fresh coriander (cilantro), and a dollop of plain yogurt, raita or mango chutney (optional)

Instructions

  • Preheat the oven to 190°C (Gas Mark 5 / 375°F).
  • Add all of the ingredients to a large baking dish (mine measured around 11 x 9 inches), and mix thoroughly. Remember the rice will expand as it cooks, so make sure the mixture doesn't completely fill the dish at this stage.
  • Cover the dish with foil, and bake for around an hour, or until the rice is fully cooked.
  • Serve with fresh coriander (cilantro), and a dollop of plain yogurt, raita or mango chutney, if desired.
Course: Main Course
Cuisine: Indian
Author: Becca Heyes

 

Note: Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on exactly what ingredients you choose. Information above is for 1/4 of the recipe, not including toppings or sides.

Don’t have time to bake your chickpea curry in the oven? Try my speedy 15 minute creamy chickpea curry instead!