Vegan Chickpea Curry – Gluten Free & Nut Free
Hooray!!! I am back, after a month of being “away.” Since this quarantine began, my children have been in complete control of my laptop. We are a house of 3 computers and 5 humans. Hubby is still considered an essential service, and has been working from home (that’s one computer down). My daughter is 17 and now totally disconnected from her school, friends and work, so no way do I have the heart to take a computer from her (another one down). The boys are on a fairly strict schedule (in order to maintain some sanity and structure), and seem to always need the third and final computer for something. Whether it’s online learning, film studies, gaming or yet another episode of Boy Meets World… they’re REALLY into that show. I’ve been working on a vegan chickpea curry dish but never seem to be able to get my hands on a computer to sit down and this vegan curry recipe out there into the World Wide Web!
But my husband is a kind and generous man, who is also very likely just tired of hearing me complain that I only have access to the internet from my iPhone 7, and he bought me a new laptop! It’s cheap, small and likely only good for blogging, but hells bells I am happy about it! So prepare yourself for an onslaught of new recipes, low budget videos, menu plans and other random stuff I’ll slap on here and pray it entertains you! Ok, enough chit-chat… let’s get to the good stuff. My favorite vegan curry recipe!
Chickpea curry has GOT to be one of the most commonly searched Indian recipes. It’s cheap, easy and once you get the hang of it, so simple to modify to your exact liking. For the past few years I have made vegan chickpea curry seriously probably close to 100 or more times. Even with plenty of success, never feeling like I seriously nailed it you know?! I messaged a girlfriend, who is Indian, vegetarian and talks often about her curries. I told her I was writing this vegan chickpea curry recipe and asked her what she thinks the number one thing you can do to ensure your dish tastes authentic and rich. Her answer was simple. “Make your own curry spice. Store bought is crap!” I love this woman. Always straight to the point, haha! For whatever reason though, the thought of making my own curry spice for this vegan curry recipe was a little intimidating. How would I know if I added too much or too little of something? What if the combination of spices I use together tastes like crap and I ruin the entire dish? I came to her with these questions and her response did not disappoint. “I dunno. I just taste and go. If you mess it up, they’ll still have to eat it, or they’re going to be pretty hungry that night.” Again, see why I like her so much? Armed with her no sh*t’s given attitude, I headed to Bulk Barn to pick up some fresh spices. God I love the spices there. You can get as much or as little as you like, and my favourite Bulk Barn lady assured me they have very strict protocols as to how often they have to change the spices to ensure optimal freshness and flavour. I opted for these:
- Cumin
- Coriander
- Mustard seed
- Fenugreek
- Turmeric
- Clove
- Curry leaves
I tried to get the seed or whole version when possible to grind myself, just to really drive home that super fresh spicy taste. Making my own spice blend seriously made such a significant difference in the overall awesomeness of this vegan chickpea curry. As I mentioned, I have made this dish easily over 100 times and never have gotten a result this incredible. However, if you are thinking that upping your spice game to this level is just too intense… just use some prepackaged curry powder!
Vegan Chickpea Curry Ingredients at a Glance
- Chickpeas – I always prefer to soak and boil my own chickpeas. Canned chickpeas work totally fine here though!
- Coconut Milk – You can’t have vegan curry without coconut milk so using a good quality full-fat coconut milk is pretty essential here. A decent way of testing is to grab the can and shake it. If it feels heavy and a solid portion inside the can doesn’t move, you’re probably in luck. Some full-fat coconut milks taste sweeter and more coconut-y than others. This is usually a sign it’s not the best quality. Aroy-D (weird name for sure, but good stuff!) and Cha’s Organics are two brands that never let me down.
- Onions – I feel confident that I have used literally every type of onion on God’s green earth in this vegan curry dish! But the best results always seem to be with sweet or yellow onions. White or Spanish works great too, while red/purple onions don’t work nearly as well.
- Garlic & Ginger – Fresh is totally the way to go here. Jarred or dried garlic and ginger will seriously change the flavour of the vegan curry.
- Tomato Paste – Tomato paste not only helps to thicken the sauce, but it also adds acidity and tartness, to an otherwise sweet dish. Nothing special is needed here, just be sure it’s plain paste, not Italian flavoured.
Start your vegan chickpea curry journey by first following this recipe as closely as possible the first time around, and then adjust to taste the next time you have a go at it. In no time your spice portions will be perfectly suited specifically to your taste. We like this vegan curry recipe best served over Basmati rice and the kids love to dip fresh naan into it. You know the drill, got questions? Lemme know!
Made this on my Instagram story and made sure to highlight it, so you can follow along! Vegan Chickpea Curry video
Chickpea Curry - Vegan, Gluten-Free & Nut-Free
Ingredients
- 2.5 tbsp neutral oil - I used grapeseed
- 1 cup chopped onion
- 4 cloves minced garlic
- 1/2 tbsp minced ginger
- 1/2 tbsp ground coriander
- 1 tbsp ground cumin
- 1 tsp ground fenugreek
- 1 tsp ground mustard seed
- 1/2 tsp ground tumeric
- 1/2 tsp chopped dried curry leaves
- 1/2 tsp ground clove
- 1 tbsp water
- 2 cups cooked chickpeas
- 1/2 tbsp sea salt
- 1 can full fat coconut milk
- 3 tbsp tomato paste
Instructions
- Over medium heat in a dutch oven or large skillet, add 1.5 tbsp oil. Once warm, add chopped onions. Cook until translucent and very soft (approx. 8 minutes).
- Add garlic and ginger and cook for another 3-4 minutes.
- Toss in the water and all of the spices. Stir quickly to ensure spices do not burn and water is well incorporated. Continuously stir gently for 1-2 minutes.
- Add cooked chickpeas, 1 tbsp of oil and salt. Cook for 15 minutes, stirring every once and a while.
- Lower heat to med-low and add in coconut milk and tomato paste, combine well. Cover and allow to cook for 20-30 minutes. Be sure to stir every once and a while.
- Remove from heat and add additional salt to taste if required. If desired, top with fresh cilantro and pour over Basmati rice.
Notes
- Be sure to use full-fat canned coconut milk.
- If you aren't into making your curry spice, swap all of these spices for 2-3 tbsp of prepackaged curry power.
- This dish freezes wonderfully.
- If you find your chickpea curry is too saucy or thin, add 1/2 tbsp coconut flour at the end of the cooking process.
Vegan gluten free recipes, meal plans, wellness, home | Mostly Domestic
Vegan and Gluten free food and cooking | Mostly Domestic
Vegan and Gluten free meal plans, prep and food shopping lists | Mostly Domestic
