Chickpea and Potato Curry

Caribbean chickpea and potato curry or chana aloo masala is a healthy vegan curry typically served over rice. It’s a family-friendly recipe, so easy to make, and ready in under half an hour!

I really enjoy cooking with chickpeas. I like chickpeas in not just hummus, but also in stews, salads, and curries. These little beans are so healthy and nutritious and I believe that everyone needs to have them more often.

This chickpea and potato curry became a family favorite a few months ago when I first started making it, and we now have it at least every fortnight! As I like to keep the spices mild, this curry is suitable for adults and kids. However, if you prefer a spicier curry then I will provide you with what adjustments to make below.

This curry is healthy, easy and quick, and full of flavor. So I figured that it’s time to share it on the blog.

The Ingredients

Here’s what you’ll need to make this chickpea and potato curry:

Complete list of ingredients and amounts can be found in the recipe card below.

• Chickpeas – You can either use tinned or dried chickpeas. If you’re using tinned, then you will need to rinse and drain the chickpeas. But if you’re using dried chickpeas, then you will need to soak them in water for minimum 3 hours (with 1 tsp of bicarbonate of soda) and then cook them in water with 1 tsp of ground cumin until they’re soft.
• Potatoes – Wash, peel, and cube the potatoes.
• Olive oil, onion & garlic – Dice the onion and mince the garlic.
• Spices include garam masala, ground turmeric, ground cumin, curry powder, and ground black pepper – Adding the spices right after cooking the onion and garlic will activate the spices and help infuse the potatoes and chickpeas.
• Crushed/diced tomatoes – The tomatoes add a little bit of acidity and help thicken the sauce, they also give this curry a vibrant color.
• Salt – I always add the salt near the end of the cooking process, as that’s when flavors settle and you will know how much salt do you need to add.

How to Make Chickpea and Potato Curry

Start by heating the olive oil in a large saucepan. Cook the diced onion for a couple of minutes, until it’s soft and translucent. Add the garlic, and cook for one more minute while stirring until it’s fragrant.

It is very important to add the spices at this stage, as this helps to activate them and they will easily infuse the vegetables that will give you more flavor. I’ve added different spices to my curry, but if you don’t have one or two of them on hand that’s not a problem. There’s a different version of this curry that does not use garam masala, but I find the curry to be much tastier with the masala added. Turmeric will help bring out the taste in this curry and give it a vibrant color. However, if you don’t have any ground turmeric on hand you can skip it.

After adding the spices, and cooking them with the onion and garlic for a minute you can add the diced potatoes. Cook the potatoes for a couple of minutes before adding the chickpeas. The potatoes will start to crisp, but make sure not to cook the potatoes for too long as they can become mushy at the end of the cooking process.

Add the cooked chickpeas, vegetable stock, and crushed tomatoes. The stock needs to be hot so it doesn’t stop the cooking process. Bring to a boil, cover with a lid and simmer. You can also season with salt at this point.

When the potatoes become soft, it means that the curry is cooked (this will take 5-10 minutes).

At this point, for extra creaminess, you can add half a can (200ml) of coconut milk if you like. This is not what the authentic chana aloo masala looks like, but I love adding coconut milk to my curries. Let the coconut milk simmer for 2-3 minutes.

And finally, add the spinach leaves and allow them to wilt.

Serve over white rice, and sprinkle with crushed toasted peanuts and chopped parsley. You could also serve this curry with homemade naan bread if you prefer.

Make it in the slow cooker!

You could also make this curry in a slow cooker, just make sure that you prepare the veggies first by sautéing them and then put everything together with the vegetable stock and crushed tomatoes in a slow cooker.

Cook on low for 8 hours, or on high for 4 hours. Serve over white rice or with naan bread and top with crushed roasted peanuts and chopped parsley.

I make all kinds of curries! Below I’m listing my favorite vegan curries that you will also love:

• Sweet potato curry (my absolute favorite!)
• Aubergine and chickpea curry (this one is amazing, please try it!)
• Pumpkin curry
• Butternut squash curry with kale
• Kidney bean curry (easy, requires very basic ingredients, and cheap)
• Coconut curry (Indian inspired, so good!)
• Instant Pot pumpkin curry with red lentils
• Curry superfood bowl with quinoa