This fragrant chickpea and potato curry (chana aloo curry) is an excellent weeknight meal. Full of protein and flavor. Chickpeas and potatoes simmer to tender perfection in a perfectly seasoned curry tomato base.
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❤️ Why you’ll love this recipe
- A delicious Indian recipe bursting with flavor
- All in one pot, so easy to clean up
- Vegan, vegetarian and gluten free
- High in protein and fiber thanks to the chickpeas
- An easy meal perfect for a weeknight dinner
- Comforting, filling and satisfying
🍅 Ingredients and substitutions
- Large onion – red onion or white onion will do.
- Garlic and fresh ginger – mince them up nice and small, or put them in the blender when blending the tomatoes.
- Spices – this curry has curry powder, coriander powder, cayenne pepper or red pepper flakes, ground turmeric, ground cumin powder, cumin seeds, salt, black pepper and smoked paprika.
- Chickpeas – to make this recipe easier, I just use canned chickpeas. If you want to use dry chickpeas, then soak and cook them ahead of time before making this curry.
- Potatoes – I used two medium potatoes that equaled about a cup and a half when diced. You can also use baby potatoes and quarter them.
- Crushed tomatoes – I use canned tomatoes for convenience but you can also use fresh tomatoes. Just chop them up finely or put them in the blender to create a tomato sauce.
- Oil – opt for a neutral tasting oil like a vegetable oil, canola oil or avocado oil
- Vegetable broth – you can also use a bouillon cube.
- Fresh cilantro – this really brightens up the flavor.
- Lemon juice – a little goes a long way and also helps to balance and brighten the flavor. You can also use lime juice if you don’t have lemons on hand.
- Basmati rice – serve this dish on basmati rice, or whatever white rice you have on hand
👩🍳 Helpful tips
- A big component of flavor in this recipe is the caramelized onion. Make sure to sauté the onion in the oil for at least 10 minutes, or until it starts to turn light golden brown.
- I like using crushed tomatoes for a smoother tomato sauce base. If you don’t mind chunks of tomatoes, you can use diced tomatoes.
- If you only have diced tomatoes on hand, but don’t want chunks of tomatoes, then throw the diced tomatoes in the blender to create a smooth tomato sauce.
- Before cooking the curry, measure out all of the spices into a small bowl. Then you can add it all in at once without having to measure things out when cooking.
🔪 Recommended equipment
Make sure to have a large pan or large pot with a lid to cook this curry in. You can also cook this in an instant pot or pressure cooker. More on that later.
A rice cooker is very handy to have on hand. You can find them for very cheap at a thrift store.
If you love Indian recipes and Indian cooking, a great thing to have is a masala dabba. It’s found in many Indian households and it organizes your spices. It makes it so you only have to pull out the masala dabba, instead of a bunch of different spice bottles. It looks beautiful too.
Directions
Make sure to scroll down to the recipe card for the full ingredients list and instructions!
- Add oil to a large pan and heat on medium heat for a minute.
- Add the onions and cook until lightly golden brown and caramelized. This should take about 10 minutes.
- Add the spices (minus garam masala), garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and sauté for one minute.
- Add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Cook for one minute
- Add the chickpeas, potatoes, salt, pepper and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to medium low to bring it to a low simmer. Crack the lid and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and chickpeas are soft.
- Turn off the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed. Stir in the chopped cilantro, garam masala powder and lemon juice. Serve over cooked basmati rice.
❄️ Storing
Fridge – This lasts in an airtight container in the fridge for up to five days. This curry tastes amazing the next day as leftovers, once the ingredients have a chance to mingle together.
Freezer – You can freeze this curry as well. Make sure to use a freezer friendly bag or container. Thaw out in the fridge before reheating.
Making ahead – To make this ahead of time, just peel and chop the potatoes, chop the onions, mince the garlic cloves and ginger. Store the potatoes in water in the fridge until you’re ready to cook.
♨️ Serving suggestions
This goes best over some basmati or jasmine rice. Vegan naan bread and chapati are also delicious with this recipe. You can also use cauliflower rice or brown rice. Top with fresh cilantro and chopped red onions.
❓ FAQ’s
This recipe does amazingly well in an instant pot. Heat oil using the sauté mode on medium heat in the instant pot to sauté the onions in oil. Then add the spices, ginger and garlic. Then add the potatoes, garbanzo beans, crushed tomatoes, salt and black pepper.
Seal the lid and cook on high pressure for 8 minutes. Quick release and stir in the lemon juice and fresh cilantro.
To make this curry oil free, just sauté the ingredients in vegetable stock or a little water instead of oil.
This recipe tastes best with yellow potatoes, but feel free to use sweet potatoes if that’s what you have on hand. It will take on a sweeter flavor but will still be good.
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📖 Recipe
Delicious chickpea and potato curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons neutral tasting oil
- 1 onion (diced)
- 4 cloves garlic (minced)
- 1 tablespoon minced ginger
- 14 ounces crushed tomatoes (see notes)
- 30 ounces chickpeas (2, 15 ounce cans) (drained and rinsed)
- 2 medium potatoes (peeled and diced)
- 2½ cups vegetable broth
- ¼ lemon – juiced
- ¼ cup cilantro (chopped)
- basmati rice
Seasonings
- ½ teaspoon salt
- ½ teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder
- 2 tablespoons curry powder
- ½ teaspoon smoked paprika
- 2 teaspoons coriander powder
- ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper (optional if you don't like spice)
- ½ teaspoon pepper
- ½ teaspoon garam masala
Instructions
Stovetop directions
- Add oil to a large pan and heat on medium heat for a minute.2 tablespoons neutral tasting oil
- Add the onions and cook until lightly golden brown and caramelized. This should take about 10 minutes.1 onion
- Add the spices (minus garam masala), garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and sauté for one minute.4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Cook for one minute14 ounces crushed tomatoes
- Add the chickpeas, potatoes, salt, pepper and vegetable broth. Cover and bring to a boil. Immediately turn the heat down to medium low to bring it to a low simmer. Crack the lid and simmer for 20 minutes, or until the potatoes and chickpeas are soft.30 ounces chickpeas (2, 15 ounce cans), 2 medium potatoes, 2½ cups vegetable broth, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper
- Turn off the heat. Taste and add more salt if needed. Stir in the chopped cilantro, garam masala powder and lemon juice. Serve over cooked basmati rice.¼ lemon – juiced, ¼ cup cilantro, basmati rice, ½ teaspoon garam masala
Instant pot directions
- Set pressure cooker to sauté mode and add oil. Allow it to heat up for one minute.2 tablespoons neutral tasting oil
- Add the onions and cook until lightly golden brown and caramelized. This should take about 10 minutes.1 onion
- Add the spices (minus garam masala), garlic, ginger, salt and pepper and sauté for one minute.4 cloves garlic, 1 tablespoon minced ginger, ½ teaspoon ground cumin, ¼ teaspoon turmeric powder, 2 tablespoons curry powder, 2 teaspoons coriander powder, ½ teaspoon smoked paprika, ½ teaspoon salt, ½ teaspoon pepper, ½ teaspoon cayenne pepper
- Add the crushed tomatoes and stir well. Sauté for one minute14 ounces crushed tomatoes
- Add the chickpeas, potatoes, salt, pepper and vegetable broth. Add the lid and set it to seal. Turn the sauté mode off and switch it to pressure cooking mode. Cook on high pressure for 6 minutes. Let it slow release for 5 minutes, then quick release the rest of the way.30 ounces chickpeas (2, 15 ounce cans), 2 medium potatoes, 2½ cups vegetable broth
- Stir in fresh cilantro, lemon juice and garam masala. Stir and serve over rice¼ lemon – juiced, ¼ cup cilantro, ½ teaspoon garam masala
Notes
Nutrition
The nutritional information on this website is only an estimate and is provided for convenience and as a courtesy only. The accuracy of the nutritional information for any recipe on this site is not guaranteed. It should not be used as a substitute for a professional nutritionist’s advice.
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