A Vegetarian Dish A Month – October 2024: Chickpea Tikka Masala
Every now and then you need a challenge. You need to try something new. That was what I needed this month.
I was starting to feel like all the recipes I was doing for my New Years’ Resolution were all “quick/easy/simple.” Those recipes are great, don’t get me wrong. I want quick, easy, and simple for most of my meals.
But this month, I felt the need for a challenge – to try to make something that isn’t even close to anything I’ve ever made in my life. Something that is vegan, but also explodes with flavor in your mouth. That brought me to thinking about a few different cultures that offer those options: Thai, Indian, or Mexican. And amongst those, the one that I have absolutely no experience with was…Indian.
So I set out to find an Indian dish that I could make that wouldn’t be too challenging for a first-time-Indian-cook. I found quite a few that I wanted to try, but some felt a little advanced, so I ended up settling on something that didn’t require 30 different spices and seasonings, ingredients I don’t even know where to buy (I love paneer…No idea where to buy it though, also not vegan), and could work as an introduction to Indian cooking. I think I found the perfect dish in…
October 2024: Chickpea Tikka Masala
Yes! This chickpea tikka masala dish was packed with tummy-filling protein in the chickpeas, plenty of flavor from just a few basic spices (most of which I already owned! Bonus!), creaminess from coconut milk, and didn’t seem overly complicated to make. The only things I had to buy for this that I didn’t already have was garam masala (which I actually felt proud of when I bought it…I want to make more Indian food!) and cumin seeds.
I’d never cooked anything Indian in my life. What better time to start than now?
The Recipe
The recipe I decided on was this one: https://simple-veganista.com/chickpea-tikka-masala/
It already has some fantastic “short and sweet” instructions, so I’ll keep mine super minimal, just enough to get you curious. Here are the ingredients I used:
- Chickpeas (2 cans)
- Canned diced tomatoes (2 cans)
- 1 onion (I regretted this, next time I’m using 2)
- Garlic and ginger
- Salt, cumin seeds, garam masala, turmeric, chili powder (substituted for cayenne pepper, which I may buy for next time)
- Coconut milk (1 can)
- Tomato paste
- Olive oil
Honestly, I thought more spices would be involved. That was what won me over for this recipe.
Here’s how I did it:
- Saute the onions and cumin seeds
- Add ginger and garlic
- Add spices, let all the flavors mesh for a while and the onions are nice and sweet/brown
- Add tomatoes, tomato paste, chickpeas, and coconut milk
- Cover and simmer for 30 minutes.
The smells from just the spices and aromatics in a pot were INTENSE! Once I added the diced tomatoes, coconut milk, and chickpeas that’s when it really started to click that I was making some yummy.
All in all, it was super easy to make! Just because I was unfamiliar with the process, I had to go back and check and double-check the instructions repeatedly, but I think next time I’ll be a lot quicker.
There were also some refinements I want to make, which I’ll explain below: another onion, blend the onion and spices before adding tomatoes/tomato paste/chickpeas/milk, drain some of the tomato water, and add some honey or sugar.
The Verdict
Before I dive into what I could have done better, I want to just say this upfront: my chickpea tikka masala came out amazing! It was really good! Full of flavor, exceptionally hearty and filling, and the recipe made a ton and it freezes well so you can have it for whenever you need!
What could’ve done I done better? It came out very tomatoey. The acidity from the tomatoes was a little overpowering, and at first it just tasted like spaghetti sauce. I ended up having to add a lot more seasonings to bring back some of the flavor of Indian spices. From what I read online, this is a common mistake and can usually be fixed by adding a LOT more onions (giving you more sweetness to counter the acidity), and by blending the onions so you just get more onion flavor throughout. A little sugar or honey would’ve helped smooth out the flavor a bit more as well.
Overall, a great attempt for a first-time-Indian meal. I’m really looking forward to making this again! As always, I’m open to comments or suggestions for how to improve! Or if you try making this thanks to me, drop a comment to let me know how yours turned out!
Thanks for reading, all!
