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  • Jeeca Jeeca
  • - November 11, 2022
  • - 10:22 pm

Vegan Butter Chickpeas (Indian Butter Chicken-Inspired)

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Vegan Butter Chickpeas with a rich, earthy, and aromatic spiced tomato-based curry sauce inspired by Indian Butter Chicken. This makes an ultimate comforting meal that’s best enjoyed with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice!

Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a rich and lush curry sauce in a white bowl

THE INSPIRATION: INDIAN BUTTER CHICKEN & CURRY

I love Indian food and different types of curry really, so I decided to create the lush sauce/base I love for Butter Chicken and use chickpeas since I also love chana masala so here we are.

I can say the flavours from spices in this butter chickpeas are authentic as I really tried to replicate those from my favourite Indian restaurant but the technique may differ as I cook this in the comforts of my home and use ingredients that I have. I didn’t have coriander seeds and fenugreek, which would’ve been great additions to the flavour profile of this recipe.

Vegan Butter Chickpeas ingredients - garam masala, cumin, turmeric, chili powder, aromatics, cashews

INGREDIENTS TO MAKE THIS VEGAN BUTTER CHICKPEAS

For the Puree/Base

The full detailed & printable recipe is in the recipe card below.

  • neutral oil
  • vegan butter
  • small red onion , diced
  • garlic
  • ginger
  • ground cumin seed powder
  • garam masala
  • red chili powder
  • turmeric powder
  • roasted cashews
  • diced tomatoes
  • water
  • sugar
  • salt

For the Butter Chickpeas

  • neutral oil or vegan butter
  • red onion
  • chickpeas
  • water

To Serve

  • Chopped fresh coriander
  • Naan paratha, roti, or basmati rice to serve

PREPARATION

FOR THE CHICKPEAS AND AROMATICS

  • If using canned chickpeas, drain and wash the chickpeas through water. Set aside.
  • Prepare the aromatics. For the ginger, I like to use a spoon to peel this. 
  • Crush, roughly peel, and then roughly chop the garlic.
  • Dice the onion. Divide into 2 parts. I used 1 part for the base and the other part for stir-frying with the chickpeas.
Can of chickpeas
Drained can of chickpeas
Washing canned chickpeas
Washed cooked chickpeas

HOW TO MAKE THE RICH BUTTER CHICKPEAS BASE

  • Heat a large wok or skillet over medium.
  • Once hot, add the oil and melt the vegan butter. Stir-fry the onion, garlic, and ginger until aromatic.
  • Add in the spices: cumin seed powder, garam masala, red chili powder, and turmeric powder along with the cashews.
  • Pour in the diced tomatoes and water. Season with salt and sugar, to taste. I like to add sugar to counter the acidity from the tomatoes.
  • Mix well and then cover the wok/skillet and allow everything to come to a boil. Once it boils, lower heat to a simmer and leave for 5-8 minutes until the cashews have softened.
Cooking Vegan Butter Chickpeas base in a wok

Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until you get a smooth and thick puree.

Vegan Butter Chickpeas puree sauce

COOKING THE BUTTER CHICKPEAS

  • In the same wok or skillet over medium heat, melt more vegan butter or add oil.
  • Stir-fry the onion and then add the chickpeas. Stir-fry the chickpeas for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add in the tomato-cashew puree into the wok. Add water in your blender to rinse off any excess puree (so nothing goes to waste!) and then pour it in the butter chickpeas in the wok.
  • Allow to simmer to come to a boil for 2-3 minutes. You can add more water if you prefer a runnier consistency. Taste the curry and feel free to season with more salt/sugar to taste.
  • Turn off the heat. Garnish with fresh coriander.
Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a rich and lush curry sauce in a wok
Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a white bowl
Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a rich and lush curry sauce

ENJOY YOUR VEGAN BUTTER CHICKPEAS!

  • Serve hot and enjoy with with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice! I served mine with store bought frozen paratha that I simply pan-fried.
Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a rich in a white bowl with paratha
Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a rich and lush curry sauce with paratha

MORE VEGAN RECIPES YOU MIGHT LOVE:

  • Indo Chinese Style Chili Tofu
  • Chili Garlic Butter Potatoes
  • Filipino Kaldereta or ‘Meat’ Stew
  • Pan-Fried Tofu Cakes
  • Crispy Eggplant Katsu
  • Mie Goreng (Indonesian Fried Noodles)
  • Chinese Sweet and Sour “Pork”
Vegan Butter Chickpeas in a rich and lush curry sauce with paratha

Vegan Butter Chickpeas (Indian Butter Chicken-Inspired)

5 from 1 vote
Vegan Butter Chickpeas with a rich, earthy, and aromatic spiced tomato-based curry sauce inspired by Indian Butter Chicken. This makes an ultimate comforting meal that’s best enjoyed with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice!
Print Recipe Pin this Recipe Rate this Recipe
Prep Time 20 mins
Cook Time 20 mins
Total Time 40 mins
Course Main Course, Stews
Cuisine Asian, Indian, South Asian
Servings 4 servings
Calories 336 kcal

Ingredients
 
 

Puree/Base

  • 1 tbsp neutral oil
  • 1 tbsp vegan butter
  • 1/2 small red onion , diced
  • 6 cloves garlic , crushed and roughly chopped
  • 1 small knob ginger , peeled and roughly chopped or minced (around 1 tbsp minced)
  • 1/2 tbsp ground cumin seed powder
  • 1 tbsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp red chili powder
  • 1 tsp turmeric powder
  • 1/3 cup roasted cashews (50g / 1.7 oz), I used unsalted cashews
  • 1 can diced tomatoes (400g / 14 oz can)
  • 1/2 cup water
  • 3-4 tsp sugar adjust to taste
  • 1-2 tsp salt to taste

Butter Chickpeas

  • 1 tbsp neutral oil or vegan butter
  • 1/2 small red onion ,diced
  • 1-2 can chickpeas (400g can, 225 g / 8 oz drained weight) see notes
  • 1/2 cup water or more if desired

To Serve

  • Chopped fresh coriander
  • Naan paratha, roti, or basmati rice to serve

Instructions
 

Preparation

  • If using canned chickpeas, drain and wash the chickpeas through water. Set aside.
  • Prepare the aromatics. For the ginger, I like to use a spoon to peel this.
  • Crush, roughly peel, and then roughly chop the garlic.
  • Dice the onion. Divide into 2 parts. I used 1 part for the base and the other part for stir-frying with the chickpeas.

Base/Puree

  • Heat a large wok or skillet over medium.
  • Once hot, add the oil and melt the vegan butter. Stir-fry the onion, garlic, and ginger until aromatic.
  • Add in the spices: cumin seed powder, garam masala, red chili powder, and turmeric powder along with the cashews.
  • Pour in the diced tomatoes and water. Season with salt and sugar, to taste. I like to add sugar to counter the acidity from the tomatoes.
  • Mix well and then cover the wok/skillet and allow everything to come to a boil. Once it boils, lower heat to a simmer and leave for 5-8 minutes until the cashews have softened.
  • Transfer the mixture to a blender and blend until you get a smooth and thick puree.

Butter Chickpeas

  • In the same wok or skillet over medium heat, melt more vegan butter or add oil.
  • Stir-fry the onion and then add the chickpeas. Stir-fry the chickpeas for 2-3 minutes.
  • Add in the tomato-cashew puree into the wok. Add water in your blender to rinse off any excess puree (so nothing goes to waste!) and then pour it in the butter chickpeas in the wok.
  • Allow to simmer to come to a boil for 2-3 minutes. You can add more water if you prefer a runnier consistency.
  • Taste the curry and feel free to season with more salt/sugar to taste.
  • Turn off the heat. Garnish with fresh coriander.
  • Serve hot and enjoy with with naan, paratha, basmati rice, or any other carb of your choice! I served mine with store bought frozen paratha that I simply pan-fried.

WATCH Video

Notes

CHICKPEAS

  • I added 1 large (400g) and 1 small (225g) can of chickpeas totalling to around 360g (drained weight) chickpeas.
  • Be sure to wash the chickpeas through running water and draining excess liquid before adding the chickpeas to the curry.

NUTRITIONAL INFO

Serving: 1serving | Calories: 336kcal | Carbohydrates: 37g | Protein: 11g | Fat: 18g | Saturated Fat: 2g | Polyunsaturated Fat: 5g | Monounsaturated Fat: 9g | Trans Fat: 0.04g | Sodium: 629mg | Potassium: 434mg | Fiber: 8g | Sugar: 9g | Vitamin A: 330IU | Vitamin C: 5mg | Calcium: 84mg | Iron: 5mg
DID YOU MAKE THIS RECIPE?Please leave a rating or comment and share a photo on Instagram, and tag me @thefoodietakesflight or use #thefoodietakesflight 🙂

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This Post Has 2 Comments

  1. Tiana 31 Jan 2023 Reply

    Super delicious recipe! Will be making again for sure. Glad I finally found a great butter chicken substitute! Made the 2x amount and it fed 2 people comfortably with lots of leftovers

    1. Jeeca 31 Jan 2023 Reply

      Yaaay, glad you liked it! Thanks so much Tiana ◡̈

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Noodles The Foodie Takes Flight

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I’m Jeeca, a food content creator and recipe developer passionate about creating easy yet tasty and flavour-packed vegan recipes. I share a lot of Asian recipes inspired by my travels and those I grew up enjoying.

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