This potato curry is made with Indian spices, chickpeas, juicy tomatoes, sweet peas, and (of course!) hearty potatoes in a rich and creamy sauce. It's delicious, comforting, and easy enough for a weeknight!
I don't always make potatoes the main course of my dinner, but when I do, I make absolutely certain that they're the most delicious flavorful potatoes you can eat. But how do you do that?
Curry, baby.
This potato curry is the perfect excuse to eat straight up carbs for dinner. Not only is it loaded with what I consider the most satisfying and comforting food on the planet (potatoes, duh), but those potatoes are smothered in creamy sauce and spices, with little bursts of sweetness from the addition of peas.
It's also really easy to make, and comes together in a single pot.
If you insist on balancing things out, add some protein to this meal. Serve it with some fried tofu or seitan. Or, if you want to go the other direction (even more carbs), this curry is excellent over basmati rice or with a side of vegan naan.
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Ingredients You'll Need
- Vegetable oil. Just about an neutral high-heat oil can be used. Coconut, canola, and avocado oil are all fine options.
- Onion.
- Garlic.
- Ginger.
- Spices. We're using garam masala, ground cumin, turmeric, paprika, cumin seeds and mustard seeds. Yes, that's a lot, but it's worth it! You may need to look for the whole cumin and mustard seeds in the international section of your supermarket. If you can't find them there, try an Indian market or online.
- Potatoes. The recipe calls for russet potatoes, and that's what works best, but red or Yukon gold potatoes could be substituted in a pinch.
- Vegetable broth.
- Coconut milk. We're using full-fat coconut milk from a can. Light coconut milk should work, though your curry won't turn out as creamy.
- Canned diced tomatoes.
- Chickpeas.
- Frozen peas.
- Salt & pepper.
- Fresh cilantro. Skip this if you're not a fan of cilantro.
How It's Made
Below is a detailed photo tutorial on how to make this dish. Scroll all the way down if you'd like to skip right to the recipe!
- Heat the oil in a large pot, then add diced onion. Sweat the onion in the oil for a few minutes, until it starts to soften and become translucent.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger and spices. Sauté everything with the onion briefly, stirring the whole time. Be careful not to let anything burn. Burnt spices will make your curry taste bitter.
- Stir in the potatoes and broth, raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil. Lower the heat, cover the pot, and let the mixture simmer for a few minutes to start softening the potatoes.
- Take the lid off of the pot and give it a stir every so often.
Tip: Make sure to keep the heat low and keep on top of stirring your curry as it simmers. Scrape the bottom of the pot with your spoon to prevent any settled starch from scorching.
- After about 15 minutes, take the lid off of the pot and stir in the coconut milk, tomatoes, and chickpeas.
- Let the curry continue to simmer with the lid off until the sauce thickens up and the potatoes are tender.
- Stir in the peas.
- Take the pot off of heat and season the curry with salt and pepper to taste.
- Serve your potato curry with a sprinkle of fresh cilantro.
Leftovers & Storage
Leftover potato curry can be stored in an airtight container in the refrigerator for about 3 days. The sauce may thicken during storage. Thin it with a splash of water when reheating if needed. I don't recommend freezing this dish.
Frequently Asked Questions
It is!
It's spicy in the sense that it's got lots of intense flavors going on, but it's not hot. Add some cayenne pepper if you'd like your curry to have some heat.
More Curries
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📖 Recipe
Potato Curry
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoons vegetable oil
- 1 medium onion, diced
- 3 garlic cloves, minced
- 2 teaspoons freshly grated ginger
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon sweet paprika
- ½ teaspoon cumin seeds
- ½ teaspoon mustard seeds
- 2 ½ pounds russet potatoes, scrubbed and cut into 1-inch pieces
- 1 cup vegetable broth
- 1 cup full-fat coconut milk
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can diced tomatoes
- 1 (14 ounce or 400 gram) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
- ½ cup frozen peas, thawed
- Salt and pepper, to taste
- Fresh cilantro, for topping, optional
Instructions
- Coat the bottom of a large pot with the oil and place it over medium heat.
- Once the oil is hot, add the onion. Sweat the onion for about 5 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it begins to soften.
- Stir in the garlic, ginger, garam masala, ground cumin, turmeric, paprika, cumin seeds, and mustard seeds. Sauté the mixture for about 1 minute, until it becomes very fragrant, stirring constantly to prevent burning.
- Stir in the potatoes and broth. Raise the heat and bring the liquid to a boil.
- Lower the heat and cover the pot. Let the mixture simmer with the lid on for about 15 minutes, until the potatoes are tender but not falling apart. Remove the lid every so often and give it a stir. (Note 1)
- Remove the lid from the pot and stir in the coconut milk, tomatoes, and chickpeas. Let the mixture continue to simmer, uncovered, until the potatoes are very tender and the sauce is thick.
- Stir in the peas and remove the pot from heat.
- Season the curry with salt and pepper to taste. Serve with fresh cilantro.
Notes
- Make sure to scrape the bottom of the pot with your spoon every time you stir it. The potatoes can easily settle to the bottom and burn.
- This recipe makes about 6 cups of curry.
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This is delicious! I did substitute a homemade cashew cream for the coconut milk and it worked very well. Looking forward to making more of your recipes.
Just made this and it turned out great! I added a couple more Indian spices and jalapeño since I had them on hand.
I make this recipe every week! Perfect for leftover lunches.
Delicious. Thank you for sharing this.
1 cup of broth is not nearly enough to cover 2 1/2 pounds of potatoes. Did you mean 2 1/2 cups?
Thank you
One cup is correct. By cooking them with the lid on the pot, you'll end up steaming any potatoes that are above the liquid.
I have made this twice and it's delicious! It is very easy, especially if you get everything ready ahead of time, and nice enough for company. The first time I found it a tad spicy (I have kids) so the second time I cut down the garam masala a bit (to about 1.5 tsp) and then it had just a tiny bit of spiciness - perfect. I had to add a good amount of salt at the end, and I also used more peas. We ate it with brown rice.