Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry (canned chickpeas recipe)

An easy chickpea curry made with canned chickpeas. This vegan curry is packed with flavour for your Friday night curry.

Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry (canned chickpeas recipe)

This easy vegan chickpea curry has so much flavour.

My friend Craig gave me the basic recipe and I tweaked it a bit.

Full of spices and flavour, this tomato-based curry is made with canned chickpeas (garbanzo beans), onion, tomato and spices.

I like to serve it alongside my spinach and coconut dahl, with rice, mango chutney and some homemade vegan raita.

Sometimes I made a batch of chapatis to go with it too.

Canned chickpeas

If you prefer to soak dried chickpeas overnight, you can do that. 

Of course, that can be cheaper, but personally, I'm never organised enough to do that.

Canned chickpeas are such good quality, they are so convenient.

I always have a few cans in my store cupboard.

And of course, you can use the chickpea water (aquafaba) to make vegan meringues or vegan chocolate mousse.

Are chickpeas a healthy option?

Chickpeas are always a healthy option.

They are perfect to add to curries, stews and soups or mash them up to add to sandwiches and wraps or to thicken sauces.

I could personally eat them from the can like sweets.

They are high in protein and are full of fibre, vitamins and minerals.

Which chickpeas are the best?

Chefs will tell us the best chickpeas are the ones you buy from health food shops and high-end shops in glass jars.

I'm sure they are good quality, but if you're like me and shop in your local supermarket, you probably won't see these glass jars of chickpeas, no matter how much you search the shelves.

After testing lots of brands of tinned chickpeas, I've found the best type are the ones you find on the world aisle beside all the Indian ingredients.

They are big and creamy. So good.

Sometimes supermarket own brand chickpeas can be a bit like hard bullets.

What you need to make this easy vegan chickpea curry

Here are the simple ingredients you need to make this simple garbanzo bean curry also known as a chana curry.

1. Olive oil - or rapeseed oil
2. Onions - white or brown
3. Garlic
4. Fresh ginger
5. Fresh chilli pepper - mild to hot, depending on your taste
6. Coriander seeds
7. Cumin seeds 
8. Turmeric
9. Chilli powder
10. Chickpeas - canned or soaked and cooked
11. Canned plum tomatoes
12. Brown sugar
13. Salt & pepper
14. Lemon
15. Fresh coriander
    

Peeling fresh ginger

Do you know the easiest way to peel a stick of ginger?

Ginger is quite knobbly and odd-shaped so peeling it with a potato peeler can be difficult and result in too much ginger wasted or if you're not careful, cut fingers.

The best way to peel ginger is with a teaspoon.

Just scrape the ginger with the teaspoon and the skin with come off very easily with no ginger lost.

Try it!

Why buy canned plum tomatoes instead of chopped tomatoes?

Of course, you could use canned chopped tomatoes for this dish.

However, canned plum tomatoes are a higher grade of tomato, so they are of better quality.

So they are always a good option.

Do stick to your own budget though. 

If the cheapest own-brand chopped tomatoes are better for your budget, then buy those.

What to serve with a chickpea curry

Here are a few ideas of a few things you can serve with an Indian chickpea curry.

• Basmati rice
• Chapaties
• Coconut rice - rice flavoured with coconut
• Mango chutney - try my recipe for homemade mango chutney
• Naan bread
• Onion Bhajis
• Poppadoms
• Vegetable Samosas

How long will chickpea curry leftovers keep?

Once cool, keep leftover curry in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.

Cool quicker by spooning into another container, once it is cooked.

Reheat in a pot or in the microwave.

Can you freeze chickpea curry?

Once cool, you can also freeze this curry for 3-4 months.

Defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating in a pot or in a bowl in the microwave.

More easy vegan Indian recipes for you to try

Here are some easy and delicious vegan Indian or Indian-inspired recipes for you to try.

For lunch

1. Bombay Cheese Sandwich with Chutney - the Indian equivalent of a crisp sandwich but a bit more luxurious
2. Coronation Coleslaw - a vegan version of this curried slaw created for the Queen's Jubilee 
3. Easy Red Chilli & Garlic Chutney - super easy and no cooking!
4. Grilled Tandoori Tofu Skewers - marinated in homemade tandoori paste
5. Indian Spiced Potato Scones - a twist on Scottish tatties scones
6. Madras Curried Tomato Soup - from Madhur Jaffrey
7. Onion Bhaji Lunch Wrap - a rainbow coloured wrap
8. Onion Bhaji Sandwich with Curried Slaw - so, so good!

For curry night

1. Easy Aubergine Balti - a gutsy tomato-based curry
2. Easy Mushroom,. Aubergine & Potato Curry - a simple curry made with shop-bought curry paste
3. Homemade chapatis - easy and fun to make
4. Home-Style Cauliflower & Potato Curry - a dry spiced curry, rather than one with lots of sauce
5. Slow Cooker Aubergine & Onion Masala - an easy slow-cooked curry
6. Spicy Spinach & Potato Curry - from 660 Curries
7. Spinach & Coconut Dal - my favourite quick curry
8. Sweetcorn Curry with Cashews - from Biting Biting

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Remember and say hi. I'm always happy to chat and answer questions.

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curry, vegan curry, low calorie curry, vegetarian curry, chickpea curry, chana curry, garbanzo curry

dinner

Indian

Yield: 2-3

Author: Jacqueline Meldrum

Easy Vegan Chickpea Curry

An easy chickpea curry made with canned chickpeas. This vegan curry is packed with flavour for your Friday night curry.

Prep time: 10 MinCook time: 35 MinTotal time: 45 Min

Ingredients

• 2 tablespoons olive oil (rapeseed oil or sunflower oil)
• 2 medium onions
• 1 1/2 cm piece of ginger, peeled and finely grated
• 2 cloves of garlic, finely grated or chopped
• 1/2 large red chili, roughly chopped
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
• 400g (14 oz) can of chickpeas
• 400g (14 oz) can of plum tomatoes
• 1/2 teaspoon brown sugar (optional)
• pinch of salt & pepper
• 1/2 lemon
• 3 tablespoons fresh coriander leaves (chopped)

Instructions

1. Peel the onions, cut in half and then slice and set aside.
2. Heat a small pan and dry roast the coriander seeds, then roughly crush in a mortar and pestle or whizz in a blender or food processor.
3. Do the same with the cumin seeds taking care not to let them burn.
4. Heat a large heavy pan on a medium heat and add the oil.
5. When the oil is hot add all the spices and allow to sizzle for 1 min.
6. Add the sliced onions and fry for 1 -2 mins while stirring occasionally so they don't stick.
7. Turn down the heat to low and continue to cook for 10 -15 mins. Sprinkle in the brown sugar, if you are adding it.
8. Add the ginger to the onions with the chili and garlic. Cook for a further 2 mins then turn the heat up to medium again.
9. Add the chickpeas and cook for 5 mins before adding the plum tomatoes, squishing them with clean hands to break them up.
10. Add a splash of water to loosen off the mix, It shouldn't be too dry.
11. Turn down the heat and simmer for 10 mins. You can mash some of the chickpeas up with a fork or potato masher. Mashed chickpeas will give a creamy texture to the curry.
12. Add the lemon juice and chopped coriander, then season with salt and pepper. Simmer for 1 min.
13. Serve and enjoy!

Notes

• You can use soaked and cooked dried chickpeas
• Chopped tomatoes may be used instead of plum tomatoes.
• Choose your chilli according to how hot you like a curry. I use a mild chilli.
• Once cool, keep leftover curry in an airtight container in the fridge for 3-4 days.
• Once cool, you can also freeze this curry for 3-4 months, then defrost in the fridge overnight before reheating.

Calories

2 servings = 443 calories per serving

3 servings = 295 calories per serving

Nutrition Facts

Calories

295.43

Fat (grams)

12.97

Sat. Fat (grams)

1.7

Carbs (grams)

39.84

Fiber (grams)

11.2

Net carbs

28.63

Sugar (grams)

10.56

Protein (grams)

10.41

Sodium (milligrams)

571.77

Cholesterol (grams)

0

This information is approximated using a nutrition and calorie calculator.

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