Recipe: Chickpea, Cauliflower and Coconut Curry with Mango Chutney

In 2024, Vancouver Coastal Health (VCH) introduced a series of planetary health menu items at Vancouver General Hospital. These plant-forward meals are designed to be nutritious, delicious and environmentally sustainable.

Created by Chef Ned Bell and tested by patient partners, the recipes have been fine-tuned for the hospital setting. And now you can try one of the recipes at home. 

Ingredients

Curry

1-2 medium size onion, diced finely 

 ⅛ cup vegetable oil 

3 cloves garlic, minced finely 

1 small knob fresh ginger, peeled and chopped finely

5 tbsp curry powder 

1 tbsp chili powder 

3 tbsp salt (add more or less to taste, if desired) 

1 large can diced tomatoes 

2 cans coconut milk (1-2 more cans depending on how ‘creamy’ you like it) 

1 large cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained 

5 cups of cauliflower, remove most of the stems and cut into bite size pieces, blanch the cauliflower in boiling salted water for 30 seconds until tender, shock the cauliflower in ice water and set aside 

Mango chutney

4 cups frozen mango 

½ red onion, sliced in half, sliced in half the other way and then sliced thinly 

1 knob fresh ginger, chopped finely (or grated) 

2 tbsp vegetable oil 

1 clove garlic, minced 

1 tbsp salt 

3 tbsp sugar 

5 tbsp rice wine vinegar 

Method 

Curry

In a large pot over medium heat saute the onions in the vegetable oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and the ginger and saute for 3 minutes. Add the salt and the canned tomatoes and cook for 3 minutes. Add the curry powder and chili powder and cook for 3 minutes. Add the coconut milk, the cauliflower and the chickpeas and cook for 10 minutes. You may want to add more coconut milk or 1 cup of water to thin out the curry, depending on your preference. 

Mango Chutney

In a medium saucepan over medium heat, saute the red onions in the vegetable oil for 5 minutes. Add the garlic and cook for 5 minutes. Add the ginger, mango, vinegar and sugar and cook for 25 minutes then remove from heat and let cool. 

You can serve this chutney warm or cold, chunky or pureed until smooth. 

Serve the complete curry dish over cooked rice (basmati or jasmine) with the mango chutney, toasted cashews and cilantro (optional).

You can also watch Chef Ned Bell create this recipe on VCH’s Instagram.