This potato & chickpea curry is a creamy, satisfying, and MAJOR hit in the comfort food department. Pair it with rice, brown rice, quinoa, or eat on its own. This curry is a meatless lunch or dinner that is fantastic as a meal prep for the week, or a quick family dinner!
Potato & Chickpea Curry (Vegan)
WHY I LOVE THIS DISH
Let me start by just quickly saying how much I LOVE CURRY!! Phew, got that off my chest.
Indian food, and curries overall, have been a favorite of mine since childhood, even spicy ones! Since being an adult, my spice tolerance has grown even more, but what’s great about this dish is that you can dial up or down the spice level with the ingredients like chili powder, cayenne, and red chili flakes. Feel free to leave these three ingredients out completely. The dish will still be flavorful, just minus the heat!
THIS DISH IS EASY TO CUSTOMIZE!
The veggies in here can be customized! If your family members aren’t fans of red bell pepper for example, switch it up to include those vegetables that are house favorites! Perhaps broccoli, carrots, even mushrooms. That sounds like a yummy idea for the next version of this dish….
This dish uses full-fat coconut milk, but feel free to use the lite version. It may not be quite as thick, but will still be delicious! Also, you can use whatever kind of potato you may have on hand. During the cooking process, you’ll be checking the potatoes to check tenderness anyway, so it won’t matter much if you use a particular kind of potato that cooks faster/slower than others. Just make sure to try and cut your potatoes in a uniform way, so that the chunks are the same size as each other (or as close as you can get it!).
I use fresh cilantro to top off the dish. If you don’t like cilantro, you can substitute fresh parsley, dried parsley, or omit completely. Cilantro is loved in this house, and adds a freshness to the dish, but is certainly not critical.
SOME NOTES ON THE PROCESS
There are a couple pans involved in this dish, since we have rice on the side. If you don’t serve a starch or other side dish with the curry, this is a one-pot meal.
Use a large pot for the dish (like for boiling pasta), as it will be easier this way to keep everything contained. If you’re feeling adventurous, you can use a large pan. Just stir carefully and watch for splatter 🙂
You’ll want to cut your red bell peppers and tomatoes (I used plum tomatoes but you can substitute other kinds) in a similar size as your potatoes. Note that the smaller the cut, the quicker these will all cook. I went for bite sized pieces, not too small and not too big. I wanted to “see” all of the different components.
Lastly, enjoy!
Potato & Chickpea Curry (Vegan)
INGREDIENTS:
- 2 medium sized onion, finely diced
- 1 T oil (can use coconut, olive, or other)
- 1 teaspoon kosher salt
- 1 teaspoon pepper
- 1 1/4 T cumin
- 1 1/4 T curry powder
- 1 teaspoon chili powder
- 1 teaspoon turmeric powder
- 1/4 teaspoon cayenne powder
- 1/4 teaspoon red chili flakes
- 4 cloves minced garlic or 2 teaspoons garlic powder
- 2 teaspoons minced fresh ginger (optional)
- 2 cans full-fat coconut milk
- 1 1/4 cup tomato sauce
- 3 plum tomatoes, diced in chunks
- 5 medium sized potatoes, diced in chunks (about 3/4 inch)
- 2 red bell peppers, diced in chunks
- 2 cans chickpeas, rinsed and drained
- 2 T chopped fresh cilantro (garnish)
DIRECTIONS:
- In a large pot over medium heat, add the oil and onions, and cook about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally. Add small amount of water to prevent burning.
- Add salt, pepper, and all of the other spices listed, ginger and garlic. Cook additional 1-2 minutes, stirring frequently.
- Add coconut milk, tomato sauce, potatoes, tomatoes, red bell peppers. Stir thoroughly, cover with a lid, and raise heat to bring up to a simmer. Then lower heat to keep at a low simmer, cover again, and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring occasionally.
- Add chickpeas, stir and cook additional 5 – 10 minutes or until potatoes are tender. The cook time here will depend on the size of the potato chunks.
- Taste for seasoning and add salt if desired.
- Garnish with fresh cilantro.