Quick, easy, and absolutely delicious. This is an easy vegan chickpea curry recipe with garam masala, lite coconut milk, fresh ginger and more. It is flavorful, hearty and comes together fast. It is by no means authentic, but it is strictly plant based. When my partner went up for seconds, I knew I had a winner on my hands!
When I usually make curry, I like to use coconut cream instead of coconut milk, because it creates a thicker, richer sauce. For this chickpea curry, I wanted to challenge myself to use lite coconut milk, but still create a robust, thick sauce. The secrets were blending some of the chickpeas with the sauce, and then, simmering it all over low heat without the lid on. So simple!
A few things…
- ・I used fresh turmeric in this chickpea curry recipe, but feel free to substitute 1 tsp dried turmeric powder.
- ・I used a lot of “no salt” canned goods. Due to this, I added ¾ tsp of salt. If you use canned goods with sodium already in them, you may need less salt.
- ・Finally, I served this with lemon wedges on the side. If you don’t have any lemons on hand, but you do have lemon juice, just stir some lemon juice right into the pot. Maybe a 1 Tbsp or more? But ultimately, let your taste be your guide. Your tomatoes may be rather acidic, so you need much less.
- Please enjoy 💚 And explore additional UVK recipes, like Coconut Curry Carrot Soup, Butternut Squash Spinach Soup, Roasted Sweet Potato Soup, Roasted Red Pepper Soup, Vegan Tofu Burger with Indian Spices and Green Peas, and more.
Chickpea Curry
2 Tbsp vegan butter
1 ½ cups chopped onion (OR ~1 large onion, chopped)
1 Tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh ginger
3 garlic cloves, coarsely chopped
1 Tbsp finely chopped peeled fresh turmeric (OR 1 tsp dried turmeric powder)
1 jalapeño, chopped (remove seeds and the inner membrane, if you are very sensitive to heat)
2 ½ tsp garam masala
14.5 ounce can of no salt diced tomatoes
13.5 ounce can of lite coconut milk
3 15.5 ounce cans of no salt chickpeas, drained and rinsed (OR ~4½ cups cooked chickpeas)
¾-1 tsp salt (see note above)
Cilantro leaves, to top
Lemon wedges, to serve (OR stir lemon juice into the pot of curry, to taste)
Cooked brown basmati rice, to serve
1. First, you’ll make the sauce for the vegan chickpea curry. In a large, heavy pot, add the vegan butter, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, jalapeño, garam masala and a pinch of salt. Sauté over medium-high heat for ~7 minutes–stirring around every now and then.
2. Add onion mixture to a blender with the tomatoes, lite coconut milk, and ½ cup of the chickpeas. Blend until completely smooth.
3. Pour the sauce into the large, heavy pot and then, add the remaining chickpeas. Scrape the bottom of the pot with a wooden spoon and loosen any of the bits. Simmer uncovered for ~15 minutes over low heat.
4. Taste and adjust seasonings (salt?). Serve over basmati rice with lemon wedges on the side.