This vegan chickpea and lentil curry is quick and easy to make, flavored with garam masala and ginger, it’s ready in about 45 minutes even though it tastes like it’s been cooking for hours. It’s also a one-pot meal and perfect for a weekday dinner.
Recipe Stats:
Vegetarian | Vegan With Modifications | Less Than 60 Minutes | No Soak Lentils
Eliminate the recommended yogurt garnish for serving to make it a vegan lentil.
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Why Make A Chickpea And Lentil Curry
After moving to Spain, we realized we quickly had to learn to make Indian food at home. After being served a curry with grated cheddar cheese on top in Spain, that was it for us.
I was always hesitant to make Indiana at home, thinking it was too difficult. But, once you buy some of the key spices, it’s really not difficult at all.
Because so many Indian recipes are vegan and vegetarian, they do a great job with incorporating different kinds of beans and lentils into their recipes. This includes black beans, all kinds of lentils, and chickpeas. This chickpea and lentil dahl is just one of the many combinations that just go so well together. Made with canned chickpeas and no soak lentils, it’s also pretty easy to make as well.
Check out our other curry recipes:
Creamy Indian Lentil Dahl Recipe
Instant Pot Indian Black Bean Curry
Vegan Chana Masala With Coconut Milk
Ingredients For This Red Lentil And Chickpea Curry Recipe
Chickpeas And Lentils
This chickpea and red lentil curry uses canned chickpeas and dried red lentils. The lentils don’t need to soak ahead of time. You can soak them, which will reduce the amount of time to cook.
Just rinse the red lentils in cool water and drain them. For the canned chickpeas, it’s also best to drain them in a colander and rinse them in cool water.
The chickpeas and red lentils are cooked in vegetable broth (or chicken broth if you are not vegetarian) and a can of diced tomatoes. The tomatoes add to the broth and add some acidity to the curry.
Coconut Oil And Vegetables
The base for the chickpea and lentil curry recipe is coconut oil, or vegetable oil. I prefer using coconut oil for all of my curry recipes because it just adds a bit of creaminess and a bit of flavor, without being too coconut-flavored. Coconut oil is actually a solid, and will turn to a liquid when it is warmed.
Then, add diced yellow onion, pressed garlic, and diced red pepper. You can also use green pepper, but I prefer red or yellow pepper, which is sweeter. Green peppers can have a bit of bitterness to them.
Spices For Chickpea And Lentil Curry
This curry is quite flavorful, but not spicy unless you want it to be. The base seasoning is garam masala, which is a mix of Indian spices. It’s easy to find at most supermarkets now. In addition, add a bit of ground ginger and some mild chili powder. If you want a bit of heat, choose a spicy chili powder or add a bit of crushed red pepper.
I also use a generous amount of salt, particularly when cooking chickpeas and lentils. The salt won’t make the dish salty, but does tend to bring all of the flavors together.
How To Make A Chickpea And Lentil Curry Recipe
Add the coconut oil or vegetable oil to a medium-sized dutch oven or large saucepan. Add the onion, garlic, and pepper. Cook for 3-5 minutes or until the pepper starts to soften but before the garlic browns.
Add the ginger powder, chili powder, garam masala, and salt and coat in the oil. This allows the spices to infuse into the coconut oil, which makes the curry more flavorful.
Add the lentils and coat them in the oil and spices. Let them sweat for 2-3 minutes while stirring to ensure they don’t burn. Add the vegetable broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape any bits of spice from the bottom of the dutch oven.
Add the diced tomatoes and salt and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils soften. Once the lentils start to soften. Add the chickpeas and stir. The chickpeas are already cooked, so they don’t take long at all. Cook until the chickpeas are warmed through, 3-5 minutes.
Serve with fresh coriander or topped with greek yogurt or coconut yogurt if you are vegan.
Chickpea And Lentil Curry
This vegan chickpea and lentil curry is quick and easy to make, flavored with garam masala and ginger, it’s ready in about 45 minutes even though it tastes like it’s been cooking for hours.
Ingredients
- 1 tablespoon coconut oil (or vegetable oil)
- ½ small onion, diced
- 4-5 cloves of garlic, minced or pressed
- 1 red pepper, diced
- 1 teaspoon ginger powder
- 1/2 teaspoon mild chili powder
- 1 tablespoon garam masala
- 1 cup of dry red lentils, rinsed and drained
- 2 cups of vegetable or chicken broth
- 1 15 ounce can of diced tomatoes
- 1 teaspoon salt
- 1 15 ounce can of chickpeas, drained and rinsed
Instructions
- Add the coconut oil or vegetable oil to a medium-sized dutch oven or large saucepan.
- Add onion, garlic, and pepper. Cook 3-5 minutes or until the pepper starts to soften but before the garlic browns.
- Add the ginger powder, chili powder, and garam masala and coat in the oil.
- Add the lentils and coat in the oil and spices. Let them sweat for 2-3 minutes while stirring to ensure they don’t burn.
- Add the vegetable broth and use a wooden spoon to scrape the bits from the bottom of the dutch oven.
- Add the diced tomatoes and salt and cook for 25-30 minutes or until the lentils soften.
- Add the chickpeas and stir. Cook until the chickpeas are warmed through, 3-5 minutes.
- Serve with fresh coriander or topped with greek yogurt.
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Nutrition Information
Yield
4Serving Size
1Amount Per Serving Calories 446Total Fat 8gSaturated Fat 4gTrans Fat 0gUnsaturated Fat 4gCholesterol 1mgSodium 1374mgCarbohydrates 74gFiber 19gSugar 12gProtein 24g
This nutritional data is provided by a third-party source and should not be relied on if you are on a strict diet.
