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Sweet and Sour Chickpeas Peppers and Broccoli. 1 Pot Weeknight Protein Meal. Serve over rice, grains or noodles. Chickpeas and veggies cooked in Easy Sweet and Sour Sauce. Vegan Gluten-free Nut-free Recipe
Chickpeas and lentils work beautifully as a tofu or meat sub in flavorful Asian sauces. The spicy kung pao, the deep Teriyaki or a addictive sweet and sour sauce. Veggies and chickpeas in the sweet and sour sauce make it one hearty meal. The veggies get cooked over high heat, then simmered in a tangy and sweet sauce till it thickens. A good dash of black pepper and cayenne brings out the strong sweet and sour flavors even more.
2016 is almost here! What are your plans for the next year? I haven’t thought of the food front yet. But some things we hope to do more of next year is research deeply on ethical and fair trade clothing and switch to using those options. We probably shop once or twice a year for some new additions that are really needed, and I would like to have the options ready for that time. Another thing we want to reduce is the amount of packaging and plastic. Though this might be difficult with the many shipments we get from Amazon. Each small object in one big box with loads of plastic packing.
More Asian recipes from the blog
- Massaman Curry Veggies GF
- Celery Black Pepper tofu GF
- Kung Pao Lentils GF
- Lentils & Veggies in Thai Peanut Sauce GF
- Chickpeas in Firecracker sauce with crunchy salad. GF
- Chickpeas in Teriyaki sauce in steamed Bao bun.
Video:
Sweet and Sour Chickpeas Peppers Broccoli
Ingredients
For the Sweet and Sour Sauce:
- 1/4 cup sugar, I use 2 tbsp cane sugar and 2 or more tbsp coconut sugar
- 2 tbsp apple cider vinegar
- 2 to 3 tbsp rice vinegar
- 1.5 tbsp ketchup
- 2 tsp soy sauce, use certified gluten-free tamari to make gf
- 1/2 tsp garlic powder
- 2 tbsp water
Chickpeas and Veggies:
- 1 tsp oil
- 3 cloves of garlic, finely chopped
- 1/2 large red bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1/2 green bell pepper, thinly sliced
- 1 cup small broccoli florets
- 15 oz chickpeas , or 1.5 cups cooked chickpeas
- a generous dash of salt,, black pepper, cayenne
To thicken
- 2 tbsp water
- 2 tsp cornstarch , or other starch
- sesame seeds, green onion for garnish
Instructions
- Mix all the sauce ingredients in a bowl and set aside. You can also add them directly to the pan at step 5.
- Heat oil over medium high heat in a large skillet. Add garlic and cook for 2 minutes or until translucent.
- Add the peppers and mix in. Cover and cook for 2 minutes.
- Add the broccoli and mix in. Cover and cook for 1 minute. (To keep the broccoli from over cooking, You can remove the broccoli and add it back into the saucy Chickpeas before serving)
- Add the chickpeas, sauce ingredients, a generous dash of salt, black pepper and cayenne. Reduce heat to medium. Cover and cook for 4 minutes.
- Taste the sauce carefully and adjust to preference. Add more sour, sugar or salt.
- Mix cornstarch in room temperature water and add the mixture to the pan. Mix in. Cover and cook for 2 minutes until the sauce thickens. (Fold in broccoli if you removed it earlier)
- Garnish with sesame seeds, red pepper flakes and scallions and serve with cooked rice or grains of choice.
Video
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition information is automatically calculated, so should only be used as an approximation.
Reading for the day.
This article with photos on the terrible plight of tourist and temple elephants in India. Chained to one spot for decades to break their spirit. What can we do? As consumers, we can refuse to tour with companies that associate with elephant tourism, refuse to visit places where elephants are used in any kind of festivities, events, parades etc. Any and all elephants endure the training of breaking their spirit using torture. If you see them being abused, document it and pass it on to many wildlife organizations working to help these elephants. Write to Wildlife SOS site or on their facebook, asking them to step up for the 57 elephants in this training camp on the article above.
Soooo goood, and simple! Thanks for the recipe. I used tofu instead of chickpeas, and added roasted cashews with red pepper flakes. Very good!
awesome!!
I made this tonight it was absolutely delicious! I added pineapple and used less cornstarch
Awesome!!
Delicious! Absolutely loved the flavors in this one!
Awesome!!
were you planning on including some of your research findings w/ regards to ethical and fair trade clothing? I would be learn more about those issues. I appreciate that you bring items to your blog such as the elephant issue you mentioned above and I hope you continue to do so.
Thank you Jacquie. yes i will.
I love what Margaret Loyon said about your spirit and concern for animals and I echo that.
Very glad to have found an Indian cookbook and blog with a vegan focus.
Thank you,
Zo
Los Angeles
Thank you Zo!
Dear Richa,
I’m so happy to have found you via your blog. You’re my kind of cook, and I love your generous, world-embracing spirit. I also appreciate your concern for animals and the environment.
What I enjoy the most (in addition to the wonderful food recipes) is the fact that this blog is not about you, but about sharing the bounty that you participate in, thanks to your family and your own wide-ranging culture and intelligence. You’re an inspiration and a gift to the world.
Thank you,
Margaret Loyon
France
Thank you Margaret. Hope you have a wonderful 2016!
First!
What an awesome recipe. Thanks for sharing.
My plans for 2016 are to grow my vegan blog. It’s in its infancy now, but I hope one day it can be as big and awesome as your site!
You’re totally right about the excess plastic and cardboard that goes along with shopping online. Was just thinking about this myself. Would be great if Amazon and similar companies could start batching products together when shipping them.
Thank you Robert. All the very best with your blog! I know right. Very many times the shipments could be reduced by half as the boxes anyway get stuffed with plastic packaging to fill them up. I make sure to order many things together, but it doesnt seem to affect the shipments.