Vegan Chickpea Curry A Vegan And Gluten Free Curry Recipe

Chickpea is a very popular ingredient in North India. Though it’s eaten all over India, the North Indian chickpea curries are very popular. There are different ways of making chickpea curries and today I am sharing a very simple yet delicious Vegan Chickpea curry recipe- Chole masala without tomatoes. Chole is the Hindi word for Chickpea. Another Hindi word for it is Kabuli chana. The presence of Kabul in the name itself proves that this ingredient which is loved so much in India was originated somewhere else.

Origin of Chickpeas

It’s believed that Chickpea was first grown in Turkey from there it traveled to the Mediterranean region, Middle East and then India via silk route. This ingredient is so delicious and has so many health benefits that it became the key ingredient of many popular dishes of all the regions it traveled too. For e.g. Chickpea Soup of Greece and Hummus, Falafel, Bean Salad of the Middle East. And, I have already shared how much it’s loved in India. Chole Chawal (Chickpea curry with rice) and Chole puri (Chickpea curry with fried bread) are some of the favorite weekend brunch recipes of almost every Indian. Some of the readers shared with me that they can’t eat tomatoes because of health reasons and requested me to share more tomato-free recipes. This recipe will be useful for them too. Instead of tomatoes, anardana powder (dry pomegranate seeds powder) is used in this recipe for the tangy taste. The combination of chickpeas and pomegranate is really amazing and that’s the reason why the sourness of anardana is used in this dish. However, if you could not find anardana powder, use amchoor powder (dry mango powder) or lime juice.

Can it be made with canned chickpeas?

Canned beans are not used in Indian cooking. So, soaking and cooking your own beans is highly recommended for Indian recipes. However, if you could not find raw beans in your market or don’t want to cook your own beans, try it with canned beans. Though the taste won’t be similar, you still could enjoy Indian Chickpea curry.

Can it be made without a pressure cooker?

If you are soaking and then cooking raw chickpeas then using a pressure cooker or instant pot will be very convenient. It can be cooked in a normal pot also but then it will take around 2 hours to cook the chickpeas. If using canned chickpeas, a pressure cooker won’t be required.

How to serve?

The Indian chickpea curry is most commonly served with a rice dish or poori or bhature (Fried Indian bread). You can also enjoy it as a chaat or snack. To do that, make it with very thick gravy, put some kachumber salad on top, squeeze fresh lime juice, sprinkle chaat masala and enjoy. Chole chaat is a very popular Indian street food.