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Home Collections Curries

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

By:Nagi
Published:28 Sep '16Updated:16 Dec '20
89 Comments
Recipe v Dozer v

This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle curry that is one of those rare gems that’s made with spices that are sold at local supermarkets. It is made from scratch, loaded with classic Indian spicy flavours, and it’s super healthy too.

Use this recipe for curry sauce as a base and toss in whatever veggies and proteins you want!

This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle recipe that's healthy and made with everyday ingredients! www.recipetineats.com

Cauliflower Chickpea Curry

I know most people do Meat Free Monday. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it? But in my world, meat free meals are towards the end of the week after I’ve depleted my supply of fresh meat from weekend grocery shopping.

So for RecipeTin Eats, it’s Meat Free Wednesday, not Monday.

Let me try announcing that, see if it has the same ring to it.

Meat Free Wednesday is here!!!

Hmmm. Nope. Doesn’t sound quite the same, does it?

Oh well! Let’s blow right past that to today’s meat-free offering: This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry. 🙂

This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle recipe that's healthy and made with everyday ingredients! www.recipetineats.com

This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle recipe that's healthy and made with everyday ingredients! www.recipetineats.com

I absolutely adore Indian food. I don’t eat Indian out as often as I want because Indian restaurant food in Australia – and I think in many Western countries – is notoriously high in fat. Delicious, but not that good for you. 😞 At least, not the popular curries – Korma, Rogan Josh etc.

As for making it at home, most Indian curries require a trip to an Indian grocery store to track down harder to find spices, like black mustard seeds, fenugreek leaves.

However, this Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry, along with my Butter Chicken, are two rare exceptions. I can make this pretty much anytime I want because I always have the spices in my pantry, a can of some sort of beans plus some kind of veggie suitable for throwing in.

It’s a standby curry!!! I love it!

This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle recipe that's healthy and made with everyday ingredients! www.recipetineats.com

When I shared my Vegetarian Mexican Lasagna a couple of weeks ago, I undertook to post a meat free meal every fortnight for the rest of 2016. When it comes to meat-free, I think many carnivores such as myself can be skeptical, worried that the meal won’t be satisfying enough, will lack flavour and oomph.

I don’t think anyone could ever think that about this Chickpea Cauliflower Curry. What do you think? 😉 – Nagi x

PS Don’t skip the yoghurt and a good handful of fresh coriander / cilantro. It really “makes” this dish. ❤️

This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle recipe that's healthy and made with everyday ingredients! www.recipetineats.com

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This Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry is an authentic Indian homestyle recipe that's healthy and made with everyday ingredients! recipetineats.com

Cauliflower and Chickpea Curry

Author: Nagi | RecipeTin Eats
Prep: 10 mins
Cook: 20 mins
Total: 30 mins
Curry, Dinner
Indian
4.91 from 30 votes
Servings4
Tap or hover to scale
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This homestyle traditional Indian curry has all the familiar complex, spicy flavours of curries you know and love, but is much healthier and lighter than the usual suspects you get from restaurants. No hunting down hard to find ingredients! I really recommend serving this with yoghurt - adds a touch of creaminess to this healthy tomato based curry. Adding the garam masala towards the end is a great tip - adds a fresh burst of curry flavour

Ingredients

  • 4 tbsp vegetable oil
  • 1 tbsp ginger finely grated
  • 3 large garlic cloves minced.
  • 1 large onion chopped (brown, white, yellow)
  • 3 tsp coriander powder
  • 1/4 tsp tumeric powder
  • 1 tsp cumin powder
  • 2 tsp paprika
  • 1 1/2 cups chicken stock
  • 800 g / 28 oz can crushed tomato
  • 300 g / 4 cups packed cauliflower small florets (1 small / 1/2 large cauliflower)
  • 400 g / 14 oz can chickpeas drained
  • Salt
  • 1 tsp sugar - optional Note 1
  • 3/4 cup frozen peas 75g
  • 3 tsp garam masala powder Note 2
  • 1/4 cup coriander / cilantro leaves chopped
  • Yoghurt to serve (highly recommended)

Instructions

  • Heat oil in a large deep skillet or pot over medium high heat. Add garlic and ginger, cook for 1 minute. Add onion and cook for 6 - 8 minutes or until golden and caramelised.
  • Add coriander, turmeric, cumin and paprika. Cook for 1 minute.
  • Add chicken stock and tomato. Stir to combine, bring to simmer and cook for 5 minutes.
  • Add cauliflower and chickpeas. Cook for 15 minutes or until cauliflower is soft and sauce has thickened. If sauce is thickening too quickly (Note 3), put the lid on. Adjust salt to taste, and add sugar if using.
  • Add peas and garam masala. Cook for 2 minutes, then remove from stove. Stir through most of the coriander.
  • Serve curry with basmati rice or plain white rice, garnished with reserved coriander and yoghurt on the side.

Recipe Notes:

1. Traditionally, Indian curries are made with fresh tomatoes that are cooked down. I use canned for convenience and also because it makes a nice sauce. But some canned tomato can be a bit sour - the better quality, the sweeter they are (naturally sweet). If you think your curry is a bit sour, it's probably from the tomato so just add a touch of sugar.
2. Garam Masala is an Indian spice mix that is widely available nowadays. In Sydney, it is sold in supermarkets (Woolies, Coles, Harris Farms) in the spice section and costs the same as other herbs and spices.
2. The curry might look watery on the surface even after simmering for 10 minutes, but just give it a good stir because the thick part of the sauce will have settled on the bottom of the skillet.
3. The thickness of crushed canned tomato really varies from brand to brand. If you are using a brand where the tomato is almost pureed so it is more like tomato passata, then your sauce may thicken really quickly. If this happens, just cook with the lid on.
4. This is adapted from a recipe I got from a cookbook I borrowed from the local library! I am not 100% sure which one it was, but I think it was "50 Great Curries of India" by Camellia Panjabi.
5. Nutrition per serving, curry only (excludes rice and yoghurt).
cauliflower-and-chickpea-curry-nutrition

Nutrition Information:

Serving: 552gCalories: 344cal (17%)Carbohydrates: 44.1g (15%)Protein: 10.7g (21%)Fat: 15.8g (24%)Saturated Fat: 2.9g (18%)Polyunsaturated Fat: 12.9gSodium: 933mg (41%)Fiber: 11.6g (48%)Sugar: 11.5g (13%)
Did you make this recipe?I love hearing how you went with my recipes! Tag me on Instagram at @RecipeTinEats.

LIFE OF DOZER

Memories of when he was a puppy…..You just can’t get mad when you come home and are greeted with a sight like this…. At least he didn’t get into my SHOES!

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89 Comments

  1. IRENE says

    July 1, 2022 at 9:16 pm

    4 stars
    When I think of curry, I think ‘spicy’. This curry is not spicy at all. It’s not the curry that I expected but I did enjoy the dish. 🙂

    Reply
  2. Jo says

    June 18, 2022 at 9:11 am

    5 stars
    Yum!! My new fave curry!! I made a batch for my work lunches and served with rice. Didn’t have peas though so added diced potato. Definitely do not skip the yoghurt!! There was no coriander at my local Coles (ughhh) so sadly went without. I added dried mint to the yoghurt though – soooo good!! Another 5 star recipe – thank you xx

    Reply
  3. Natalie Reid says

    April 10, 2022 at 12:32 pm

    5 stars
    This was delicious! I did add a potato in it, as I loved the look of your chickpea and potato curry, so I incorporated the potato in this! It did make cooking time a little longer but it was absolutely amazing! Will cook this again!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      April 10, 2022 at 5:11 pm

      Woo hoo!! I am so glad you enjoyed it Natalie!! N x

      Reply
  4. Hannele Valkama says

    April 9, 2022 at 2:21 am

    Hi Nagi! I love your recipes! Thank you for providing easy to follow with lots of useful tips! With this recipe, it turned out quite red, not the brown in your photo. I wonder if I did something wrong? Any help is much appreciated!

    Reply
    • Rose says

      August 1, 2022 at 2:31 pm

      Mine too!

      Reply
  5. Emma says

    January 23, 2022 at 5:43 am

    5 stars
    This was delicious. I froze it in takeaway containers with brown rice & got 5 good servings from it. The spices really make the dish.

    It’s also really good for your gut health with all the vegetables, chickpeas and spices!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      January 24, 2022 at 5:45 pm

      Thanks Emma! If you liked that one then try my Vegetable Tagine – https://www.recipetineats.com/vegetable-tagine/ N x

      Reply
  6. Alessandra says

    December 2, 2021 at 10:47 pm

    Hi Nagi,

    Why the spices are added at different point of cooking in this recipe? Is there any specific reason to it?

    Thanks!

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      December 4, 2021 at 12:04 am

      I like to add the garam masala towards the end so you get it as a fresh flavour hit! N x

      Reply
  7. Carol says

    November 2, 2021 at 5:06 am

    5 stars
    Another winner from Nagi! With a couple of chillies thrown in, coz we like spicy, it was absolutely delicious. Will definitely do it again.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      November 2, 2021 at 10:57 am

      I’m so glad you enjoyed it Carol! N x

      Reply
  8. Kerry says

    October 6, 2021 at 7:58 pm

    5 stars
    Second time I’ve made this. Great flavours and quite robust as a non meat dish. I used just 1 can (400g) chopped tomatoes, bit more spices than in recipe, added a little water & lid on as suggested to ensure it didn’t get too thick. At end I added some roughly chopped baby bok choy from our veg patch. Very good with brown basmati rice with some chives (used dried) & cumin mixed through.

    Reply
  9. Colin says

    August 24, 2021 at 3:48 am

    Tasted great! I added some red lentils and added coconut milk instead of yoghurt.

    Reply
    • Nagi says

      August 24, 2021 at 4:45 pm

      Sounds amazing Colin! N x

      Reply
  10. Alex says

    March 5, 2021 at 3:28 pm

    5 stars
    Delicious, Nagi!
    As always, you do not disappoint with your recipes, precise instructions and very helpful notes…”Thank you”!
    I was even able to find the ‘single-serve’ measurements for making Garam Masala on your site, after I ‘lost’ my home-made batch I made in the fall! I put it “somewhere to keep it fresh!” LOL! I know it is in my freezer somewhere!
    What an adorable snap of a baby Dozer too…what a doll he was and is!
    Looking forward to trying out your naan and samosa recipes very soon!

    Reply
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