A delicious and easy vegan chick'n curry with potatoes and coconut milk that's entirely chicken free. Instructions here are from scratch, but you can make this 30-minute recipe even quicker if you have my basic tomato onion sauce on hand. Gluten-free eaters can add chickpeas instead of chick'n.
I have for you today a really easy but totally delicious vegan "chicken" curry made with potatoes and coconut milk and, of course, without any meat.
This is a recipe that everyone I've ever served it to loves, including kids, but it is especially great for anyone who likes or misses eating meat.
The flavors are very similar to an easy chicken curry I'd make in my non-vegan past, and when I created this recipe, I tried to be really loyal to my original recipe, with the exception of the meat, of course. Instead, I used the grilled chick'n (from Tofurkey), which makes a great stand-in for meat here.
I made the recipe from scratch this time, but I often use my magical basic tomato onion sauce to make this curry, and it cuts several minutes spent sauteing the onions, tomatoes and other spices. I'll include the instructions for both methods below.
What I love about this curry is the combination of the spices with the smooth sweetness of the coconut milk and the creamy potatoes. The chewy chick'n adds lovely texture and also bumps up the protein, making this dish quite perfect.
For heat in this recipe, I rely on black pepper because it goes so well with the coconut milk. If you use the basic tomato onion sauce there is some cayenne already in the sauce, so you can adjust your black pepper down according to your taste.
Ingredients for chick'n curry:
- Onions
- Curry leaves
- Ground black pepper
- Tomatoes
- Garlic
- Ginger
- Turmeric
- Paprika (optional)
- Potatoes
- Coconut milk
- Vegan "chicken" pieces
- Garam masala
- Cilantro
What can I serve with this curry?
Any starch typically eaten with Indian food would be fabulous here, like roti or a vegan naan bread or rice. I like serving this with homemade chapatis and jeera rice (cumin rice).
You can also serve this curry with a crusty bread. In fact, it goes beautifully with. My father would often soak up meat curries with a local roll, called pav, and it's a habit that's stuck with me, so much so that when I eat a spicy curry, I usually love to dunk in a nice, wholesome piece of bread into it.
Substitute for vegan chick'n
You can substitute 1 14 oz can of chickpeas in this recipe and you'd have perfectly delicious recipe. The chick'n makes a good replacement for anyone who likes the texture and feel of a meat substitute, but you can totally skip it.
If you make it, be sure to let me know in the comments below. Or take a photo and tag me @HolyCowVegan on Instagram.
Looking for more vegan curry recipes?
- Instant Pot Vegan Butter "Chicken" with Tofu
- Navratan Korma
- Instant Pot Mushroom Potato Korma
- Tofu "Paneer" Kali Mirch
- Creamy Vegan Peas Potato Curry
- Vegan Dum Aloo
- Sarson ka Saag, a North Indian Mustard Greens Curry
- Indian Curry with "Mince" and Veggies
- More curry recipes with the basic tomato onion sauce here.
Vegan Chick'n Curry
Equipment
- Large saucepan or pot
Ingredients
- 1 teaspoon vegetable oil
- 1 large onion (finely diced).
- 1 sprig (10-12) curry leaves
- 4 cloves garlic (crushed into a paste or minced)
- 1 inch piece ginger (crushed into a paste of minced)
- ½ to 1 teaspoon ground black pepper
- 2 large tomatoes (diced)
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- ½ teaspoon paprika (optional, mainly for color)
- 2 yellow or red potatoes (diced into ½-inch cubes)
- 3 cups vegetable stock
- ½ cup coconut milk (divided, use the canned type, not the kind that comes in cartons)
- 1 to 2 teaspoon garam masala (add 1 tsp, check, and add more if you want the curry to be more spicy)
- 8 oz vegan chick'n pieces (I used the Tofurkey lightly seasoned grilled chicken, or use any similar product of your choice. If you want to avoid a meat substitute altogether, use 14 oz canned or cooked chickpeas)
- 2 tablespoon cilantro (chopped)
- Salt to taste
Instructions
- Heat the oil and add the curry leaves and onions to it. Saute for a few minutes until the onions start to brown, then add in the ginger and garlic and black pepper and continue to saute another minute.
- Add the tomatoes and stir in the turmeric and paprika, if using. Mix well and cover the pot and let the tomatoes cook five minutes or until they are completely pulpy and mushy.
- Add the potatoes and 2 cups of the vegetable stock along with half of the coconut milk. Mix well, cover and let the curry cook until the potatoes are very tender, about 10 minutes.
- When the potatoes are tender, stir in the garam masala and the chick'n pieces or chickpeas. Add the remaining vegetable stock at this point if needed to thin the curry out.You don't want to cook the curry for too long at this point or the chick'n will get too soft. Once the curry comes to a boil, add the remaining coconut milk and turn off the heat. Stir in the cilantro.
- Serve the curry with rice, rotis, bread and wedges of lime to squeeze over the curry.
To make this recipe with the basic tomato onion sauce:
- Heat oil, add the curry leaves and stir for a minute in the oil, then add 1 ½ cups of the tomato onion sauce. Once the sauce boils, proceed with step 3 where you add the potatoes.
Recipe notes
- Recipe for basic tomato onion sauce here.
- Recipe for vegetable stock here.
- You can also add my marinated and baked tofu cubes instead of chick'n to this recipe for a delicious curry.
Nutrition
Sarah
Would dried curry leaves work? If so, would it still be 10 leaves?
Vaishali
Dry curry leaves have no flavor, unfortunately. I'd just skip them.
Lisa
Hi Vaishali, this looks super tasty. I'd like to try it with soy curls. Thanks for sharing!
Debbie
I first made this recipe in DC while visiting my son. He loved it and it was gone in a couple of days. A week or so later, my brother-in-law comes to town and I make it again, the same thing happens. Everyone I make it for goes crazy over it. I'm back in CA now, for 2 week, and has had to make it twice since being back, my other son loves it too. They even asked for the recipe. I did make a couple of alterations; I added around a quarter to a third head of cauliflower in small chunks like the potatoes (added the same time as potatoes). Also, I could not fine curry leaves, a great alternative is the same amount of basil leaves and the zest of a lime. I added these 2 right after putting the onion in to saute. I even added some oyster mushrooms in place of the Chick'n meat, but the Chick'n meat tasted far better. However, I am looking forward to trying it with the chick peas too. Thank you for this awesome recipe. My son said, "Mom, this is real comfort food!" I agreed.
Vaishali
Hi Debbie, so great to hear you enjoyed it. Nice idea adding the cauliflower chunks and basil.
Kim
What type oil & how much?
Vaishali
1 tsp of any vegetable oil, I use avocado.
Kim
Wow!!! THIS is sooo delicious ? I Thank you for this wonderful recipe.
Vaishali
Woohoo, happy you tried!
Kim
Can I substitute panang curry paste?
Vaishali
I think that would work, although it might result in different flavors because that's a Thai paste. It could be delicious, let me know if you try.
Supriya
This was delicious and satisfied a craving from my carnivore days. I made it with vegan spinach raita from my new homemade yogurt, also thanks to you! Can’t thank you enough for these simple wholesome recipes.
Vaishali
Supriya, so happy you enjoyed it. Thanks for letting me know!
Kathy
There was no mention of Garam Masala in the ingredient list, but in your description there is. Looks like a delicious recipe. Thank you for the substitute recommendation for the vegan chicken-Chick peas. I am not fond of the vegan meat substitutes.
Vaishali
Thanks for flagging! I've added the garam masala to the ingredient list.