A note: while I grew up in Malaysia, where Indian and Indian-fusion dishes are abundant, I myself am not Indian! I’ve included “Masala” in the name to indicate that the flavors here are very Indian-inspired, but it’s not a traditional “chana aloo” curry. If I’ve somehow re-invented the wheel of an existing dish, please let me know (so I can find an even better, authentic way to cook this!) Otherwise, I’m just leaving this here to give others a taste of this heavily-altered, hopefully very delicious recipe!
This recipe is a hearty Indian-inspired vegan curry with potatoes, chickpeas, and a creamy tomato base, full of flavor and a family favorite! We make it enough in our house that I have a large jar filled with the spice blend so that I don’t have to measure the individual spices out every time.
It actually started as a series of adjustments made to this butter chicken recipe for an instant pot (which is also delicious!) However, there are times in our household where we abstain from animal products – so I wanted to adapt this so that it contained neither butter nor chicken. After a lot of iterations on protein sources – some dishes of which we affectionately called “margarine tofu” – I ended up with an Indian-style curry that uses potatoes and chickpeas.
Also, while you can cook this with a pressure cooker, it’s totally optional! All you really need is a pot, or even a slow cooker.
Now, that’s enough life story – on to the recipe!
(P.S. The picture is from a chicken iteration – I will add an up-to-date photo as soon as I make this again!)
Potato Chickpea Masala
Ingredients
- 4-5 tbsp of margarine or butter
- 6 cloves of garlic
- 2 tsp powdered ginger OR 2-3in ginger root
- 1 large yellow onion, diced
- 1 1/2 tbsp garam masala
- 2 tsp cumin
- 2 tsp smoked paprika
- 2 tsp turmeric
- 1 tsp chili powder (optional)
- 2 tsp salt
- 2 17oz cans of tomato sauce
- 2 17oz cans of chickpeas
- 2-3 cups of diced potatoes
- Tomato can’s worth of water
- 1 can of coconut milk
Directions
- Melt the butter or margarine in the pot (the amount is subjective Рit just depends on how much onion and garlic you want to use!), and saut̩ the garlic, onion, and any non-powdered ginger you have in it for a couple of minutes.
- Add the spices and salt, and then add the tomato sauce. Then add a can’s worth of water to get more of the tomato sauce out. If the sauce becomes thicker than you’d like during the cooking process, you can add more water as desired. (Just keep in mind the coconut milk will be added at the end!)
- Rinse and add the chickpeas, add the diced potatoes, and give it a good stir.
- For pressure cookers: cook on high for 6 minutes. For stovetop: bring to a boil (use a lid, because the tomato sauce spatters!), and then let simmer for 30-35 minutes. For slow cooker: just pop it in for at least 4 hours, and it’ll be ready to eat whenever you are!
- Stir in the coconut milk – you can use the whole can, or just add as much as you desire.
- Serve over rice!
