Description
Indian Butter Chickpeas is a rich, flavorful vegetarian dish featuring tender chickpeas simmered in a creamy spiced tomato sauce. This comforting recipe combines aromatic spices, garlic, ginger, and a touch of cream to create a luscious curry that’s perfect served with rice or Indian bread like naan or roti. Suitable for both traditional and vegan diets with simple ingredient swaps.
Ingredients
Scale
Butter Chickpeas
- 2 tbsp butter (or vegan butter)
- 540g canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- 1 red onion, diced
- 2 garlic cloves, minced
- 1 tbsp fresh ginger, grated
- 1 tsp tomato paste
- 1 tsp turmeric powder
- 1 tsp ground cumin
- 0.5 tsp ground coriander
- 0.5 tsp chili powder (or 1 diced red chili)
- 2 tsp garam masala
- 0.5 tsp salt
- 1 x 400g can crushed tomatoes
- 125ml heavy cream (or coconut milk for a vegan version)
- Juice of ¼ – ½ lemon
- Chopped cilantro, for garnish
Instructions
- Sauté Aromatics: In a large pan, melt the butter over medium heat. Add the diced onion and cook for 5–6 minutes until softened and translucent. Stir in the minced garlic and grated ginger, cooking for an additional minute until fragrant.
- Build Flavor: Add the tomato paste, turmeric powder, ground cumin, ground coriander, chili powder (or diced red chili), garam masala, and salt to the pan. Cook the spices with the onion mixture for 1–2 minutes to deepen and develop their flavors.
- Simmer the Sauce: Pour in the crushed tomatoes and stir well to combine all ingredients. Allow the sauce to simmer gently. For a smoother texture, use an immersion blender to blend the sauce before adding chickpeas, if desired.
- Add Chickpeas: Add the drained and rinsed chickpeas to the simmering sauce. Continue to simmer the curry for about 10 minutes, allowing the chickpeas to heat through and the sauce to thicken and flavors to meld.
- Finish the Dish: Reduce the heat to low and stir in the heavy cream or coconut milk and the juice of ¼ to ½ lemon. Let the curry simmer gently for a few minutes until heated through and well combined.
- Serve: Garnish the butter chickpeas with chopped cilantro and serve hot with steamed rice, naan, or roti for a complete meal.
Notes
- For a vegan option, substitute butter with vegan butter and heavy cream with coconut milk.
- Adjust chili powder or fresh chili to your preferred spice level.
- Using an immersion blender to smooth the sauce is optional; the curry can also be served chunky.
- Leftovers keep well refrigerated for up to 3 days and can be reheated gently on the stovetop or microwave.
- Adding a pinch of sugar can balance the acidity of the tomatoes if desired.
