Punjabi Style Vegan Chickpea Curry

Most Punjabi curries have that mouth-watering base of spice-fried onions and tomatoes. To this we've added coconut milk, vegan butter and some selected spices for a mouthwatering, relatively simple-to-prepare vegan chick-pea curry with a delightfully complex flavour.

This is a house recipe, but it is similar to many Indian Curries, and it uses the same methodology we espouse for all our spice kits, the Indian tradition of adding the spices in stages, which creates the uniquely complex flavours of India. This Punjabi Chickpea Curry is a beautiful vegan entrée that will impress even the most discerning of palettes. 

Ingredients for Vegan Chickpea Curry

- 1-2 medium onions
- 2 medium tomatoes
- 1/2 pack of Grace coconut cream or 1 cup coconut milk
- 6 cloves garlic
- 1" knob of ginger
- 2 tbsp vegan butter
- 1 black cardamom pod or 2 green cardamom pods
- 1/2 cinnamon stick, broken into chunks
- 2 tej patta, Indian bay leaves
- 2 tsp cumin seeds
- 1 tsp methi (fenugreek) seeds
- ~1 tsp amchoor (mango powder)
- salt to taste
- chili pepper or cayenne pepper to taste
- 1 generous pinch hing (asafoetida)
- 1 14 oz can chickpeas

Method for Vegan Chickpea Curry:

1. Dice your tomatoes and onion

2. Pound your cardamom pods along with the methi seeds in a mortar and pestle. (You may, if you wish, leave the cumin seeds and cardamom pods whole)

3. Tadka: In a pan over medium-high heat, melt your butter and add your tej patta, cinnamon stick, cardamom and cumin and methi. Heat for 30 seconds, or until it smells amazing.

4. Add the onions along with the amchoor and hing. Fry on medium until onions are transparent (about 4-5 minutes)

5. Add diced tomatoes and cook until soft. Add the coconut cream with some water, or the coconut milk, cook until slightly reduced, remove whole spices.

6. Transfer your sauce mix to a smaller saucepan, and immersion blend the whole works until smooth. Add some more coconut milk if necessary. Now you're ready to add your salt and chickpeas. Cook until the chickpeas have a chance to softenb.

7. Finally, add your spicy ingredients until it is hot enough for your taste.

Serve with cilantro or a granish of your choice. (we chose cilantro, bell pepper and kalonji (nigella seeds). Enjoy!