Tender chickpeas simmer in a velvety gravy of Indian spices, tomatoes, and coconut milk, producing a deeply satisfying, nutritious, and comforting meal. Chickpea curry is ready in just 30 minutes. Serve it with fluffy basmati rice or warm naan bread for the perfect family dinner. Our recipe is inspired by Northern Indian chana masala (Punjab), where chickpeas are cooked in a spiced tomato sauce, and coastal southern Indian cooking (Goa and Kerala), where curries are enriched with creamy coconut milk. Like our popular lentil curry, aloo gobi, cauliflower curry, and most of our Indian vegetarian recipes, you can make chickpea curry with easy-to-find ingredients in less than 30 minutes. It’s an excellent main dish for a weeknight dinner and perfect for meal prep, as it will be even more delicious the next day. Serve it with rice, roti, or naan for a tasty, wholesome, and deeply satisfying family meal.
1. Gather your ingredients
FLAVOR BASE: You’ll need olive oil, onion, garlic, and ginger. SPICES: You’ll need curry powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, turmeric, red pepper flakes, and optionally, garam masala. OTHER INGREDIENTS: You’ll need canned or cooked dried chickpeas (garbanzo beans), crushed or diced tomatoes, coconut milk, vegetable broth, and spinach. SERVES WITH: basmati rice or brown rice, naan or roti, fresh cilantro, Greek-style yogurt, lemon or lime juice, and Tadka.
2. Make the flavor base
Heat the olive oil in a large skillet or Dutch oven. Add the finely chopped onion and sauté on medium heat for 4 minutes, stirring often. Add grated garlic, grated ginger, curry powder, cumin, turmeric, coriander, and red pepper flakes. Stir and sauté for another minute to toast the spices and release their fragrance. If the pan gets dry, add two tablespoons of broth.
3. Simmer until creamy
Add the chickpeas drained from their liquid and stir them in the spices for one minute. Stir in vegetable broth, crushed tomatoes, and coconut milk. Season with salt and black pepper. Bring to a boil, then simmer on medium heat for about 20 minutes until you reach your desired consistency. Stir occasionally. Add the spinach and cook for two more minutes or until they wilt. Finally, stir in the garam masala, taste it, and adjust for salt. You might want to add two teaspoons of sugar to balance the spices. That’s optional but often used in Indian cooking. Tip: To make an Indian chickpea curry with more gravy, you have two options: 1) add more coconut milk, or 2) add more vegetable broth. In this case, you’ll get a thinner gravy.Tip: To thicken chickpea curry, let it simmer for a few more minutes until some liquid evaporates. Optionally, you can drizzle with some quick homemade Tadka, a spiced Indian chili oil. SPINACH: You can substitute other vegetables for spinach. Try vegetable curry, pumpkin curry, potato curry, cauliflower curry, sweet potato curry, and eggplant curry. OLIVE OIL: You can substitute coconut oil, mustard oil, or another neutral vegetable oil. SPICES: They are available in most grocery stores and online. They last a couple of years in your pantry, and we use the same spices in many other recipes. You can substitute red pepper flakes for chili powder, cayenne pepper, or thinly sliced red chili. Garam masala is optional and can be left out, or you can replace it with 1/8 teaspoon of cinnamon. Other Indian spices you can add are a pinch of curry leaves, 1/8 teaspoon of kasuri methi or dried fenugreek leaves, 1/4 teaspoon mustard seeds, and the tip of a knife (very little) hing or asafoetida. TOMATOES: Substitute diced tomatoes or tomato puree for crushed tomatoes. If you prefer using fresh tomatoes, chop ripe vine tomatoes into small dice and cook them in the spices for 5 minutes before adding the chickpeas. VEGETABLE BROTH: You can substitute water for vegetable broth. COCONUT MILK: You can substitute light coconut milk or heavy cream. SUGAR: Optional. You can use white or brown sugar. Palm and coconut sugar work, too. Refrigerator: Keep leftovers in an airtight container in the fridge for up to 4 days. Freezer: Let the curry cool completely, transfer it to a freezer-friendly container, and freeze for up to 3 months. Thaw in the fridge for several hours or in the microwave. Reheat: Warm the curry in a saucepan or microwave with some water. For more chickpea ideas, check out our compilation of 40+ chickpea recipes. INDIAN RECIPES: Chana saag, chana masala, lentil curry, curry lentil soup, vegan butter chicken, vegan curry, navratan korma, eggplant curry, sweet potato curry, moong dal, mung bean soup, and chana dal. For more Indian-inspired meals, check out our compilation of 30+ vegetarian Indian recipes.
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