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Vegan Chickpea and Potato Curry (Chana Aloo Masala)

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Craving an Indian-style curry for dinner? This vegan chickpea and potato curry is full of flavorful spices, super healthy, and easy to make. Also known as Chana Aloo Masala, this tomato-based curry incorporates the flavors of cumin, cinnamon, clove, star anis, cilantro, and more.

Ingredients

Scale

To make the curry paste:

  • 3 whole cardamom pods
  • 2 whole cloves
  • 1 tsp coriander seeds
  • 1 star anis
  • 1/2 tsp cumin seeds
  • ½ tsp whole black pepper
  • 1 tbsp garam masala (pre-ground spice blend)
  • ½ tsp cinnamon (pre-ground )
  • 1 tsp chili flakes
  • 2 garlic cloves (crushed)
  • 1 tbsp fresh ginger (grated)
  • 1 tsp fresh turmeric (grated)

To make the Chana Aloo Masala:

  • 2 tbsp oil
  • 1 large onion (diced)
  • 1 jalapeño (diced)
  • 1 tsp tomato paste
  • 3 ½ cups canned tomato sauce (28 oz. or 800 g. can)
  • 1 carton vegetable stock (32 oz. or 1 L. carton)
  • 2 bay leaves (dried)
  • 1 cinnamon stick (lightly crushed)
  • 5 medium potatoes (peeled, cut into bite-size pieces)
  • 3 cans chickpeas/garbanzo beans (liquid drained) (15 oz. or 425 g. can)
  • ½ lemon (juiced)
  • 1 tsp agave (or your favorite sugar/sweetener)
  • salt (to taste)
  • pepper (to taste)

Instructions

To make the curry paste:

  1. In a pan, toast all whole spices and seeds on low heat until fragrant, agitating the pan regularly.
  2. Add all curry paste ingredients (whole spices, ground spices, garlic, ginger, turmeric) into a mortar and pestle. Grind until you have reached a fine consistency. This should take about 3 minutes.

To make the Chana Aloo Masala:

  • Over the stove’s medium heat setting, heat coconut oil in a large pot. Add in onion and jalapeño, and sauté until the onion is translucent.
  • Add in curry paste, stirring constantly until fragrant. Add in tomato paste, and continue stirring for 2-3 minutes.
  • Stir in potatoes, coating them with the contents of the pot. Allow to absorb the flavors for about 2 minutes, stirring as needed.
  • Stir in tomatoes, vegetable stock, bay leaves, and cinnamon stick. Bring to boil, turn the stove down to medium-low heat, and allow to simmer uncovered for about 25 minutes, or until potatoes are nearly cooked through.
  • Stir in chickpeas, lemon juice, agave nectar, freshly cracked black pepper to taste, and salt to taste. Note: you may need a decent amount of salt to properly flavor the potatoes, chickpeas, and tomatoes. Continue simmering for about 10 minutes, until potatoes are totally cooked through.
  • Serve over basmati rice and top with cilantro. Enjoy!

Notes

Garam masala spice blend is crucial to Chana Aloo Masala. Depending on where you live, you may not be able to find this in your local grocery store. 

If you don’t have whole spices, simply use dried whole spices and add them into the pot at the same step as you would the curry paste. Here are some rough guesses for dried powdered spices. (Note: I have not actually measured nor tested this.):

  • 1 tbsp garam masala powder
  • 1/2 tsp cardamom powder
  • 1/4 tsp cloves powder
  • 1/4 tsp star anis powder
  • 1 tsp cilantro/coriander powder
  • 1/2 tsp cumin powder
  • 1/2 tsp cinnamon powder
  • 1/2 tsp chili flakes
  • 1/4 tsp black pepper 
  • 1 tsp garlic powder
  • 1 tsp ginger powder
  • 1/2 tsp turmeric powder

Find it online: https://maddysavenue.com/indian-chickpea-potato-curry/