Using a homemade curry paste, this delicious vegan chickpea and potato curry is packed with flavour, with a tomato and onion gravy sauce for the perfect weeknight meal.
When it comes to making a homemade curry from scratch, there’s one vital lesson I’ve learned: don’t be afraid of spices.
This chickpea and potato curry really comes alive because of the homemade curry paste, packed with spices and flavour. Without it, you’re just going to end up with chickpeas and potatoes in a tomato sauce.
Homemade curry paste
This chickpea and potato curry has a masala-style sauce with tomatoes and onions.
To make the curry paste, I first added mustard seeds and cumin seeds to a pan and dry-toasted them until the seeds started to pop. Then, I added a little oil (be mindful of splashing!), and chopped onions and red chilli.
After sauteeing for 5 minutes or so, I then added garlic and ginger paste, turmeric powder, cumin powder, garam masala, coriander powder, tomato puree, and freshly chopped tomatoes (rather than using tinned).
Cooking this mixture for another 5 – 8 minutes results in the most heavenly smell – but resist just eating it all straight from the pan! Once the mix is done, turn the heat off and allow to cool while you prep the rest of the ingredients for the curry (I peeled my potatoes which had just boiled while the curry paste cooled), and then blend into a smooth paste and set aside.
You might also like checking out my simple chickpea curry recipe! I also have a great recipe for an easy vegan chicken curry if you want something high in protein and super quick to make.
What kind of chickpeas to use for chickpea curry?
For this recipe, I opted to use tinned chickpeas for convenience. From what I know, using dried chickpeas that you’ve soaked and then cooked before making the curry can add a lot more flavour to a curry, but for me, that’s just not practical when I want a quick and delicious curry now – not in 48 hours.
I used a mix of white and brown chickpeas (Khana Chala) which I think adds a really nice variation in textures to the curry – the khana chickpeas are a little smaller but taste very similar to regular chickpeas.
Curry paste inspiration was adapted from the fabulous My Food Story.
Easy Chickpea And Potato Curry
An easy chickpea and potato curry ready in under 30 minutes, with a homemade curry paste and low-calorie tomato and onion sauce.
Ingredients
- diced white onion
- 3 red chillies, diced (adjust according to your taste)
- 2 tsp garlic and ginger paste
- 8 fresh tomatoes, quartered
- 1 tbsp oil (coconut or rapeseed works great)
- 300g small potatoes
- 1 tin of white chickpeas
- 1 tin of brown chickpeas
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 1 tsp coriander powder
- 1 tsp cumin powder
- 1 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp mustard seeds
- Salt to taste
- Coriander for garnishing
Instructions
- Boil a large saucepan of water and add your potatoes whole. Boil until done (15 minutes or so), then immediately drain and place the potatoes in cold water. Leave for at least three minutes, and you should be able to easily peel the skins off the potatoes and chop into bite-sized pieces.
- While your potatoes are boiling, add the mustard seeds and cumin seeds to a pan (no oil), and toast until the seeds start popping. Add your oil, onion, and chillies and cook for 5 minutes until the onions are soft and fragrant.
- Add the ginger and garlic paste,1 teaspoon coriander powder, 1 teaspoon turmeric powder and 1 teaspoon garam masala powder, tomato puree, and four of the chopped tomatoes. Cook for another 5 - 8 minutes, then remove from the heat and allow to cool slightly before blending (*see notes) and set aside.
- In the same pan, heat a little more oil and add your remaining spices and tomatoes and cook for a minute or two until the spices have released their fragrance.
- Add the curry paste, drained chickpeas, and about half a cup of water. Tip in your boiled and chopped potatoes, bring the curry to a boil, then immediately simmer for around 10 minutes, or until the sauce is to your desired consistency.
- Top with chopped coriander and serve with basmati rice or chapatis.
Notes
If blending the paste in a Nutribullet or similar style blender, please make sure the ingredients are fully cooled before blending! It can be extremely dangerous to blend hot ingredients.
Nutrition Information:
Yield: 4 Serving Size: 1Amount Per Serving: Calories: 331Total Fat: 8gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 6gCholesterol: 0mgSodium: 221mgCarbohydrates: 57gFiber: 13gSugar: 14gProtein: 13g
Nutritional information is not always 100% accurate.
Jill Koop Liechty
Sunday 28th of March 2021
Hello! Could you please let me know how much tomato purée to add? I couldn't find it on the ingredient list. Thank you so much. So far everything smells wonderful!!
By The Forkful
Saturday 3rd of April 2021
About 1 tablespoon! :)
Ghulam Mohyudin
Tuesday 28th of January 2020
This was really interesting to read! I love the range of posts, there is really something for everyone. Thank you for sharing your suggestions too, great post!
Ghulam Mohyudin
Saturday 25th of January 2020
It was perfect the first time. This is very really unique helpful information. I learn so much from you as well! Keep it up.