Skip to Content

Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry

Sharing is caring!

This easy slow cooker chickpea curry is so good!

You really can’t go wrong with this slow cooker chickpea curry. The chickpeas are already cooked so the curry really just needs to slowly simmer away. As it does, the flavours develop and becomes so tasty I know you will want to make it regularly.

Slow cooker chickpea curry on a serving plate with parathas and garnished with lemon wedges, julienned ginger and red onion rings.

About this recipe.

This is an easy one. You really can just add everything and let your slow cooker do all the work. You can make slow cooker chickpea curry with a chunky sauce or blend it until smooth which is my preferred way to do it.

Home cooked vs. Canned (tinned) chickpeas.

Although you can use canned chickpeas, you will get better results using home cooked chickpeas. No worries there as I have an easy slow cooker chickpea recipe for you. When you cook your chickpeas in your slow cooker, you can use the chickpea broth in your curry which add more depth of flavour. 

Not only that, it’s a lot cheaper than buying canned chickpeas.

Do you have to fry the ingredients in the sauce?

If you are looking for an easy cook, you could simply pour everything into your slow cooker, wait a couple of hours and then enjoy the easiest of meals.

That said, frying the sauce ingredients adds a delicious flavour to the curry so I highly recommend following the recipe as written.

How long can you cook the chickpeas in the curry?

That is really up to you. In my opinion, a good chickpea benefits from a long cook. The chickpeas should be fall apart tender.

That said, you might like your chickpeas a bit harder. If so, you can just cook them until you are happy with the doneness of the chickpeas.

How long can you store leftovers in the fridge?

You can store any leftovers you have in an air-tight container in the fridge for 3 to 4 days. To reheat the curry, you can simply place it in your microwave or in a pan over medium heat until hot.

Can you freeze slow cooker chickpea curry?

Yes and it freezes really well too. Freeze it in portion sizes that are convenient for you for up to 6 months. If freezing, be sure to label and date the container.

 

Step by step photographs.

The ingredients for the curry laid out on a countertop.

Get all of your ingredients prepared and ready before you start cooking.

Infusing the whole spices into the oil in a slow cooker using the sauté mode.

Heat the oil and when it begins to lightly sizzle, stir in the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods and fry for about 30 seconds to release their flavour into the oil.

Frying the chopped onions, chillies and garlic and ginger

Stir in the chopped onions and fry for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Then add the garlic and ginger paste and chopped chillies.

Adding the ground spices to the onion mixture in the slow cooker.

Fry for another minute or so stirring regularly. Then stir in the ground spices and fry for another minute.

Adding the chopped tomatoes and water to the slow cooker.

Add the chopped tomatoes and the water or chickpea broth and bring to a simmer.

Blending the sauce ingredients until smooth.

At this stage you can either blend everything until smooth or you can leave it all as is for a chunkier sauce.

Adding the chickpeas to the blended sauce.

Add the chickpeas and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 to 6 hours.

Stirring the chickpeas into the sauce.

Stir the chickpeas in. The sauce will darken as it cooks.

Adding the kasoori methi and seasoning with salt to taste.

When you are happy with the doneness of the chickpeas, add the kasoori methi and season with salt to taste.

Slow cooker chana masala curry on a plate, garnished with red onion rings and lemon wedges.

Garnish with coriander (cilantro), julienned ginger and/or sliced red onion.

The slow cooker chickpea curry on a serving plate with parathas.

Serve with naans, chapatis or parathas that can be used to scoop it all up.

 

Yield: 4

Slow Cooker Chickpea Curry

Slow cooker chana masala curry on a plate, garnished with red onion rings and lemon wedges.

This is one of the most delicious vegetarian curries on the planet and it's so easy to prepare. For best results, cook the chickpeas from dry but canned (tinned) chickpeas will work fine too.

Prep Time 10 minutes
Cook Time 2 hours 15 minutes
Total Time 2 hours 25 minutes

Ingredients

  • ( 3 cups) cooked chickpeas, canned or slow cooked (page00)
  • FOR THE GRAVY
  • 2 tbsp rapeseed (canola) oil
  • 1 tsp cumin seeds
  • 2.5cm (1 inch) real cinnamon stick
  • 3 cloves
  • 3 green cardamom pods, lightly bruised
  • 2 medium onions, finely chopped
  • 2 green finger chillies, roughly chopped
  • 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste
  • ½ tsp ground turmeric
  • 1 tsp garam masala
  • 1 tsp chaat masala (optional)
  • 2 tsp Kashmiri chilli powder
  • 2 tsp ground coriander
  • 2 tsp ground cumin
  • ½ tsp amchoor (dried mango powder
  • 200g tinned (canned) chopped tomatoes
  • 80ml (1/3 cup) water or chickpea broth
  • 1 tsp kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)
  • Salt to taste
  • 3 tbsp coriander (cilantro), finely chopped

Instructions

  1. Heat the oil in your slow cooker using the sauté/searing mode if you have one or in a pan over a medium-high heat on your stove. When the oil begins to lightly sizzle, stir in the cumin seeds, cinnamon stick, cloves and cardamom pods and fry for about 30 seconds to release their flavour into the oil.
  2. Stir in the chopped onions and fry for about 5 minutes or until soft and translucent. Then add the garlic and ginger paste and chopped chillies.
  3. Fry for another minute or so stirring regularly. Then stir in the garam masala, chaat masala, if using, chilli powder, ground coriander, ground cumin and amchoor powder and continue sautéing and stirring for another minute.
  4. Add the chopped tomatoes and the water or chickpea broth and bring to a simmer. At this stage you can either blend everything until smooth or you can leave it all as is for a chunkier sauce.
  5. Add the chickpeas and cook on high for 2 hours or low for 4 to 6 hours. When the curry is ready, the chickpeas will be so tender that they are almost falling apart.
  6. Season with salt to taste and garnish with the chopped coriander (cilantro). I like to serve this with lemon wedges that can be squeezed over the curry to taste at the table. Serve with naans, chapatis or parathas that can be used to scoop it all up.

Nutrition Information:

Yield:

4

Serving Size:

1

Amount Per Serving: Calories: 264Total Fat: 7gSaturated Fat: 1gTrans Fat: 0gUnsaturated Fat: 5gCholesterol: 3mgSodium: 477mgCarbohydrates: 42gFiber: 10gSugar: 11gProtein: 12g

Did you like this recipe?

Please join me on Facebook where I share all my latest recipes and videos. Just click that Facebook icon on the left and let's get to know each other!

Skip to Recipe

Sharing is Caring

Help spread the word. You're awesome for doing it!