Peanut butter in a curry - weird, or totally normal, what do you think? I’m in the ‘normal’ camp - it just works so well that it’d be cruel to say that it’s anything short of wonderful.
I actually didn’t like peanut butter as a child, and I’ve only recently come to appreciate it. I know, I was a terrible child - no peanut butter sandwiches for me. In fact, even now, I have some slight issues with it. It can be a bit claggy (you know how it sticks to the roof of your mouth, and gets all in between your teeth? I hate that) - so, turning it into a sauce is the perfect way to combat this! All of the delicious, rich flavour, but none of the stickiness. A squeeze of lemon and plenty of fresh coriander also help to cut through the heaviness.
I find that dishes like this are best made in a large, deep saucepan - it means you’ve got plenty of surface area to cook off your vegetables, but you’ve also got the depth to add your sauce right to the same pan. One pan = less washing up (always a plus!). I used a pan that I recently got from Delimano. It was wonderfully non-stick, and the large size meant it was perfect for this recipe. It was also seriously easy to clean afterwards!! I wasn't hugely familiar with Delimano until I got this pan, but I'll definitely be taking a look at some of their other stuff now that I know how easy it was to use!
By the way, if you’re not into spicy foods, don’t be put off by the fact that I’ve called this a ‘curry’. It’s not particularly hot - it’s just a beautifully creamy mixture that seemed to suit the word. Who knew that peanut butter could complete transform a dish so easily, with just a couple of spoonfuls of the stuff?
Oh, one more plus for adding peanut butter to your curries: it give an extra hit of protein, and it’s packed with healthy monounsaturated fat. So you don’t even need to feel guilty about it - not even when you’re licking the spoon.
Peanut butter chickpea curry
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Print Pin CommentIngredients
- 100 g sugar snap peas trimmed
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 2 mild red chillis finely chopped
- 2 cloves garlic minced
- 3 spring onions chopped
- ½ red pepper cut into strips
- ½ green pepper cut into strips
- 100 g white mushrooms diced
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- 200 g tinned tomatoes half a tin
- 1 x 400g tin chickpeas 240g when drained, drained
- 150 ml vegetable stock
- 2 tablespoon smooth peanut butter heaped
- 1 tablespoon freshly squeezed lemon juice
- 3 tablespoon fresh coriander chopped, plus more for garnish
- Brown rice to serve
Instructions
- Parboil the sugar snap peas for a few minutes, until just tender. Drain and set aside.
- Heat the oil in a large, deep frying pan or wok, and add the chilli, garlic and spring onions. Cook over a medium-low heat for a couple of minutes, until fragrant. Add the parboiled sugar snap peas and strips of pepper, and cook for a further 2-3 minutes before adding the mushrooms. Cook for another 5 minutes, until all the vegetables are tender.
- Add the cumin, tomatoes, chickpeas, stock and peanut butter, and mix gently until the peanut butter has completely melted into the liquid. Simmer gently for 5-10 more minutes, until the chickpeas are hot.
- Add the lemon juice and chopped coriander, and mix well. Serve with rice, topped with more fresh coriander.
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
If you prefer a more traditional curry, make sure you try my weeknight tikka masala:
Disclosure: I received a pan from Delimano to create this recipe. All opinions are my own.
Siobhan O'Reilly says
Love this site, I just discovered it today. I will defo be a regular visitor. I was a bit dubious about trying the peanut butter chickpea curry as I thought a satay-like dish for dinner mightn't be a hit with the rest of the family. I couldn't have been more mistaken. They absolutely loved it. I've had instructions to write it down in our 'favorite family recipe' book. It got rave reviews from my Hubby and daughter. The only tweak I did was add maple syrup as I felt it needed a hint of sweetness when I tasted it at the end of cooking for seasoning. My hubby and daughter added more chili when eating ( El Yucateco hot sauce, black label reserve), they like their chillis/curries hot. I made double quantities and used Meridian UK brand, smooth peanut butter (no added anything). Just skin on, roasted peanuts. I'm not promoting brands. I just find there are so many sauces/peanut brands out there that I've had to search for the most authentic, best tasting, that I prefer to cook with. I live in Dublin, Ireland and really good quality chilli sauces are very hard to find. I had to get my daughter to bring the El Yucateco back from her holidays in Mexico last year! Well done on creating this website. It's excellent ??
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks so much Siobhan! So happy you all enjoyed it so much! Thanks for the tips :)
tilly says
Made this tonight, I used green beans instead of sugar snaps as I had plenty spare due to a buy one get one free offer. It was delicious! Though I think my chillis were a bit too mild as I would have preferred a bit more heat - I might use 3 next time and/or chop a fresh one up on top of the leftovers I'll be eating for dinner later this week.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Thanks Tilly! Enjoy the leftovers :D
Karly says
Wow, what a fantastic dinner! Thanks for linking up with What's Cookin' Wednesday!
LittleMonsterx14 says
MMM yes to peanut butter anything!
Lucy says
Tried this for supper last night....... It was delicious. Used crunchy peanut butter and mange-touts instead of sugar snaps.
Also, used a whole tin of chopped tomatoes and no stock. Yummy! Thank you.
Becca @ Amuse Your Bouche says
Yay thanks Lucy, glad you liked it! :)
Crystal | Apples & Sparkle says
I think this sounds like a great combo!
Medeja says
I can imagine that this is very flavorful dish! I should try it :)
Handmade by Lorna says
What a gorgeous looking curry - I would never have thought of putting peanut butter in a curry but I will definitely be giving this a try.
sue/the view from great island says
We're HUGE curry fans in this house, this one sounds so unusual, but gotta love PB!