I absolutely love Indian food after have grown up in the northside of Chicago. This looks like a really easy and simple recipe but it looks delicious. Sometimes I'm a little intimidated by most Indian recipes because of all the spices but this looks like a good place to start.

Absolutely love your site. Beautiful pictures too....
Just a note. You can substitue chickpeas and potatoes with any vegetables like Eggplant,beans,cabbage, zucchini, etc or even different beans or lentils. The base stays the same. This can be made with just one vegetable or lentil.

First, I LOVE your site. I've tried so many of your recipes and they are all great! Second, I am so glad you posted a simple curry recipe. I'm Indian and I can't tell you how many times I have to explain to people that Indian food at a restaurant is nothing like Indian food at home. Curry doesn't automatically mean a soupy concoction of complicated spices, tons of heat and a floating layer of oil. Most Indians use a basic base (similar to your recipe above) with a few spices such as cumin and corriander. As Jonathan mentioned - you can use this base with a variety of vegetables and lentils. Try it with some wheat flat bread (or authentic wheat "rotis") for a change from rice.

My husband is Indian, and Jain, so we cook a lot of curries and other vegetarian Indian food. This one looks nice, but I think it needs garam masala, some haldi (turmeric) and maybe ginger/garlic paste instead of plain ginger. I'll try it soon--thanks!

PPS In my opinion in regards to Abbey's comment on Sauteing the onions, I think it makes a BIG taste difference in Indian cooking to let the onions saute for at least 15 minutes.

Elise, thank you for posting the Wikipedia entry on curry. I'm Indian and an amateur food historian and can confirm that it's pretty much accurate.

Angela (and anyone else who's curious), there is no spice in Indian cuisine called curry. If we use the word "curry" at all -- and in some regions of India, the word is never used -- we use it to mean any saucy (as opposed to dry) dish that goes with rice or bread.

The curry leaves mentioned in the Wikipedia entry? Chances are, unless you are very familiar with authentic Indian food, that is not the smell you associate with it. "Curry" leaves have a very mild fragrance and you don't even come across them in many Indian restaurants in the U.S.

And Q -- so sorry to hear your wife didn't enjoy the Chicken Tikka Masala. But she's hasn't tried Indian food, then, and perhaps you haven't either -- Chicken Tikka Masala is a British dish, and you will never find it in an Indian home. I hope at least you -- if not your wife -- will have the chance to try real Indian food someday :-) . Hey, your wife should at least try it before she decides she doesn't like it, right?

This sounds/looks great! And I'm with Kalyn; it would be really good with cauliflower in place of the potatoes, too.

Visually speaking, the texture appears to be that of a stew over rice. Is it that? It looks great but I'm just wondering about the texture.

Half a Teaspoon won't seem all that much when it's all done Amanda, unless you have a very sensitive stomach or IBS you won't even notice (be more worried about the Chiles in that case!?) One of the best things about Curry is the very Subtle (unless you're a fan of Vindaloo/hot disshes) warming sensation created by all the oils from the Spices.
Don't be afraid to add spice as it enhances the flavours of the other ingredients (like salt or sugar do)
Alternatives to Butter (for Vegans, dairy intolerants etc) are Ghee and rather than Olive Oil i'd recommend Nut Oil as it does not impart any distinct flavours. Ghee is traditionally very 'Indian' and is a vegetable butter behaving as such, however it is the polar opposite of Vegetable Oil Cholesterol wise as it is a Hydrogenated fat (unlike Groundnut/Peanut-Oil which is very stable to high temperatures before becoming hydrogenated)
Finally, I agree with frying the onions although this varies from dish to dish, 15 minutes seems a bit long but frying the Onions, chopped roughly and fairly large, in a little nut-oil on a heavy bottom skillet, high heat- will impart a nice roundness to the dish. Just caramalise the edges and don't soften to death otherwise they lose all intergrity after Stewing the dish for a further half an hour.
In the UK, Curry is such a staple that Chinese restaurants, ChipShops and virtually all resaurants sell it. I can't imagine not having a Curry house or two on every row of shops. Its never really occurred to me that not everywhere is like this. Thanks for enlightening me everyone x

Ann, thanks for the tip on using olive oil instead of the butter. don't know when I'll be making this, but I'll let you all know the end result when I do.

This recipe looks great - and SUPER easy - but it's definitely not Indian. I'm Indian and frequently make what this recipe seems to be based on (Chana Masala). The ingredients and method used here don't quite line up with the real thing.

That being said, I plan on making it tonight because I have very little food in my house but i DO have chickpeas, canned tomatoes, and potatoes!

I tried this dish with a little less than 1/2 tsp of cayenne pepper and found it extremely spicy (I am sensitive to hot spices, though). I used the "mild" tomatoes with green chiles, which I have used in other recipes, so I don't think it was that. My husband, who loves spicy food, also found it pretty spicy, but very tasty. If you don't like really spicy food, I would reduce the cayenne to 1/4 tsp or less.

Hi Ann from May 3rd, Thank you for the info on relacing the butter with olive oil or nothing at all. Will try it one day and let you know.

I found your site by accident, when I opened a can of chickpeas for a recipe that required bean sprouts. So, now I have a great use for the chickpeas and a curry that my husband will probably approve of! Thanks for your recipes!

How many people does this recipe serve?

Four. ~Elise

I am a huge fan of this recipe! Every time I make it I experiment with adding/subtracting veggies (cauliflower, zuchini, carrots, & yellow squash to name a few alternates) and I really think you can't go wrong. It's my favorite dish and fills my apartment with the most amazing curry smell. It's so easy to make and reheats like a dream. Thanks for sharing such a wonderful dish!

Great recipe and thanks!! Made it many times. One hint, not sure if it's been mentioned...Add non fat plain yogurt on top, gives it that creamy touch!