Vegan Baked One Pot Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Potatoes

One pot baked chickpea curry with cauliflower, mushrooms and potatoes

My baked one pot chickpea curry with cauliflower and potatoes takes no more than 15 minutes to put together. Slow cooking it in the oven gives you hands-free time to catch up with a book or chores, and it allows all the wonderful flavors in the curry to meld together into deliciousness. A vegan, soy-free, nut-free and gluten-free recipe.

Vegan Baked One Pot Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Potatoes I haven’t given you an update on my furry family of late, and today I thought I’d catch you up on what our troublemaking trio of Lily, Billy and Leo has been up to.

Vegan Baked One Pot Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Potatoes
Leo has been doing a lot of growing up. A lot. When we brought him home just over three months ago, he was the same size as Lily who’s about as tall as a Jack Russell terrier. Now, he towers over her, and I think she’s more than a little bewildered about what’s happened. She does use it to her advantage. One of her favorite things to do, when she’s in a disagreement with him over a stuffed toy or a treat, is to scurry under his long legs and hide. It disarms him, and makes us laugh out loud. And no need to say she always wins.

Lily, as you might have guessed from that story, is the brainiac of the group. As long as I’ve known and believed in the smartness of dogs, Lily still surprises me with just how intelligent and sensitive she is. I also always take great joy in pointing out to Desi that girl dogs, and cats, are always the nicer ones, while the boy animals are always trouble (of the best kind, of course 🙂 ) Lucy, Pubm and Pie, our former resident dogs and cats, our fosters like Hunny, a pitbull mix and quite possibly the sweetest dog I’ve ever encountered, and now Lily, prove my point over and over again.

Billy reminds us every moment why we think felines are the cat’s whiskers. He has been a little low-key these past few months as he adjusts to having Leo around with all the rambunctious chasing and playing that a puppy inevitably brings with him, but I often catch him walking up to a resting Leo to nudge and tease him too.

Cats are a study in wisdom. When faced with a new or bewildering situation, they take their time to test the waters, rarely rushing into judgment or rash action. Pubm learned to get along with Opie and Lucy, despite the fact that both chased her relentlessly at the beginning. Billy has had to adjust to both Lily and Leo, and it is interesting to watch him navigate these new developments — that no doubt are huge challenges in his little world — with intelligence and thoughtfulness.

This vegan baked one pot chickpea curry with cauliflower and potatoes is an easy dish that I am SO excited to share with you. Not just because it is super-easy with a minimum of cleanup afterward (a huge, huge plus in my book), not just because it features one of my favorite ingredient combinations — chickpeas, cauliflowers, and potatoes — but because it is marvelously, scrumptiously, gorgeously delicious.

I made this curry in a cazuela, a Spanish shallow glazed earthenware pot that goes from stovetop to oven, but you can use any oven-safe saucepan, a large baking dish, or a large cast-iron skillet. This would also be a great slow cooker recipe: throw all the ingredients into the crockpot at the same time and slow-cook for four to six hours on a low setting.

I added lots of veggies to this baked one pot chickpea curry: cauliflower, potatoes, tomatoes, and onions. Squash, summer and winter, would be great here, as would bell peppers or carrots or mushrooms. The chickpeas add protein and tons of fiber.

One thing to keep in mind is that the potatoes need to be fully submerged in liquid to cook properly, if you start out with raw potatoes. If you don’t mind an additional step, you can parboil the diced potatoes (a couple of minutes in the microwave is good) and add them, to ensure they cook properly.

I am seriously in love with this baked one pot chickpea curry: it is creamy with the coconut milk, and the chickpeas, cauliflower and potatoes all add delightful flavors and textures to each mouthful. Serve it hot with rice or a bread like naan or roti for a delicious meal you’ll want to treat family, friends and just about everyone to.

Vegan Baked One Pot Chickpea Curry with Cauliflower and Potatoes

3 cups (approx. two 15-oz cans) canned or cooked chickpeas, drained
1 medium onion, sliced thinly
1 small green chili pepper, like jalapeno or serrano. Deseed for less heat, then mince.
1 tsp grated or crushed garlic
1 tsp grated ginger
1 heaping tbsp curry powder
1 tsp vegetable oil
1/2 tsp turmeric
2 cups cauliflower florets
2 medium yellow or red potatoes
2 cups vegetable stock
1/2 cup coconut milk
2 tomatoes, thinly sliced
Salt to taste
2 tbsp chopped coriander for garnish

Preheat the oven to 350 degrees.
In a large, oven-safe pot or saucepan, add the oil and when it heats, add the onions, ginger and garlic. Saute for a couple of minutes until the onions start to soften.
Add the curry powder, turmeric, and green chili. Saute for a minute, then add the veggies — cauliflower and potatoes. Reserve the tomatoes for the end.
Mix the veggies well with the spices, then add the vegetable stock and the coconut milk.
Add salt to taste, mix well, and if you’ve used raw potatoes, make sure they are submerged in the liquid. Press them down if they aren’t. Arrange the tomato slices on top.
Place uncovered in the hot oven and bake 80 minutes.
Remove carefully, sprinkle on the leafy coriander, and serve hot with rice or roti or naan. You can also squeeze on some lemon juice if you like your curry a little tart.