This vegetarian paneer and chickpea curry is not only healthy and easy to make but as it's made from mainly tinned vegetables it's incredibly low cost too!
Tinned tomatoes, tinned chickpeas and a selection of store cupboard spices combined with paneer cheese make this a delicious paneer and chickpea curry for four.
As promised on Tuesday folks, this is the paneer and chickpea curry to go with that healthy home made naan bread recipe.
Can you imagine scooping up mouthfuls of this tasty quick healthy meal with that naan bread? 🙂
You'll love the way that the paneer and chickpeas compliment each other in this meat free dish.
And, if you've not tried paneer cheese before (use halloumi if you can't get paneer) as a substitute for meat then I recommend you do.
Paneer cheese is equally high in protein, so you're not missing out on any essential nutritional needs.
Plus, this paneer and chickpea curry is just chocked full of vitamins, check out the nutrition label below if you don't believe me!
Let's not forget the humble chickpea in this paneer and chickpea curry either.
You know, I have to admit to you that we've been eating a lot of chickpeas recently.
But there's a reason for that. In fact there's many reasons!
However, the main one is that I can currently get three tins of this extremely versatile ingredient for less than £1 in my local supermarket.
I can't resist that as a bargain, especially when we're all about saving money for our trip to Hawaii next year.
Once you've got a tasty tomato based sauce made using different spices, you can add the chickpeas and come up with so many different flavour combinations.
What that means is numerous ways to feed yourself and your family cheaply and healthily.
And you can bet I'll be using these tins of chickpeas for lots more recipes to come!
Why not check out the list of popular chickpea curries below?
This paneer and chickpea curry is pretty mild. If you like a little bit more heat then add some more of the chilli powder to taste.
You could also serve this vegetarian paneer and chickpea curry with rice or chapattis.
Jump to:
Ingredients
- Sunflower Oil
- Onions
- Ginger And Garlic Paste
- Green Chilli Paste
- Salt
- Turmeric
- Ground Cumin
- Chilli Powder
- Tin Chopped Tomatoes
- Tin Chickpeas
- Paneer Cheese
- Spinach
See recipe card for quantities.
Substitutions
- Sunflower Oil - vegetable oil and canola oil are also fine. You could use olive oil but I prefer a vegetable based oil.
- Onions
- Ginger And Garlic Paste - you could substitute with crushed ginger and garlic cloves or finely grated ginger and garlic.
- Green Chilli Paste - to make green chilli paste blitz some green chillis with a bit of oil and you'll have perfect green chilli curry paste.
- Salt - a good quality sea salt is fine.
- Turmeric
- Ground Cumin
- Chilli Powder
- Tin Chopped Tomatoes - you could substitute with tomato paste / tomato puree and some cold water.
- Tin Chickpeas
- Paneer Cheese - use halloumi if you can't get paneer.
- Spinach
FAQ's
What is Paneer Cheese?
Paneer is an unsalted white cheese made from strained curdled milk. It's used in a lot of Indian dishes. It tastes fresh and has a dense and crumbly texture.
Where Does Paneer Curry Come From?
Paneer is a popular cheese originating from the Indian subcontinent. It's used in a lot of popular Indian recipes such as Chana Paneer.
Does Paneer Need To Be Cooked Before Adding To Curry?
Paneer is a fresh type of cheese, meaning you can eat it right away and no cooking is required.
Is Chickpea Curry Good For Weight Loss?
Chickpeas are great for losing weight as part of a calorie controlled diet. They're full of fibre, which helps you feeling fuller for longer.
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Other Popular Chickpea Curry Recipes You Might Also Like
- One pot sweet potato and chickpea curry is a fantastic quick healthy budget recipe to make. Delicious and full flavoured this filling vegan curry is perfect for freezing too!
- Healthy vegan chickpea curry is low cost, low calorie and extremely filling. Easy to make, just one portion of this low fat curry recipe provides nearly three quarters of your daily recommended dietary fibre requirement!
- Chickpea and butternut squash curry is a delicious quick healthy curry. This simple vegan curry is not only minimum fuss to make but it costs less too. It’s perfect for mid week dinners or a weekend supper!
Paneer and Chickpea Curry Recipe
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Equipment
Ingredients
- 2 tablespoon sunflower oil
- 3 large onions chopped
- 2 teaspoon ginger and garlic paste
- 2 teaspoon green chilli paste
- 1 and ¼ tsp. salt
- ½ teaspoon turmeric
- 1 teaspoon ground cumin
- ¼ teaspoon chilli powder
- 400 g tin chopped tomatoes
- 400 g tin chickpeas drained and rinsed
- 250 g paneer cheese* cut into 2cm x 2cm cubes so 6 cubes each serving
- 180 g chopped spinach
Instructions
- Heat the oil over a medium heat in a large saucepan.
- Add the chopped onions and saute for about 5 to 7 minutes.
- Stir in the ginger and garlic paste and the green chilli paste and cook, stirring for a further 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the salt, stirring for a further 2 to 3 minutes.
- Add the turmeric, cumin and chilli powder, cook for 1 minute, stirring well.
- Stir in the tomatoes and cook for a further 2 minutes and turn off the heat once simmering.
- Remove the contents of the saucepan to a food processor and blitz to a sauce consistency. Return to the pan. Or blend in the saucepan with a stick blender.
- Heat the sauce until it is simmering, add the chickpeas and allow them to cook for 5 minutes,
- Then add the paneer and spinach, cook stirring for a further 5 minutes.
- Serve with naan bread.
Notes
Nutrition
Nutrition Label
Nutritional information provided below is calculated using paid for online tools and the exact ingredients and quantities used above.
Rate The Recipe
If you’ve made this paneer chickpea curry recipe, or any other recipes on Neil's Healthy Meals, then please let me know.
I’d love to hear what you think of my recipe in the comments below and please do rate my recipe 5* if you like it! 🙂
rachel @ athletic avocado
Can you believe I've never had curry? That NEEDS to change asap! This looks so good 🙂
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Oh I hope you will try a curry soon Rachel. And I hope it is one bursting with flavour like this one that will get you hooked on them forever!
Thank you for your kind comments. 🙂
Susie @ Suzlyfe
I need to get back into other curries but right now I am LOVING Green curry. But this is going on the list! Cornwall pictures. now.
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thank you my friend! Cornwall pictures planned for Tuesday!
Me too, I do love a green curry!
Shashi at RunninSrilankan
Yes, I co so "imagine scooping up mouthfuls of this tasty quick healthy meal with that naan bread!" I lov curry Neil, and this sounds so delicious - I don't usually use green chili paste in my curries and now I need to get my hands on some to try this method - love how thick it looks!
neil@neilshealthymeals.com
Thank you Shashi. Right now Lynne and I are obsessing with this Curry and would eat it practically every night if that was possible!
BTW - I just make my own green chilli paste with 5 tbsp. vegetable oil and 50g chopped green chilli peppers put into a blender and blitzed until smooth. But of course you can get shop bought too. 🙂
Infinity
Great curry! I love that it is healthy and soo easy to cook
Neil
Glad you enjoyed it! Thanks for taking the time to comment. 😀
Farida
Hi Neil !
My curry will be ready in 5 minutes and it's delicious ! Thank you so much for your recipe. I was just wondering how you managed to get this colour as mine turned red because of the chopped tomatoes. Also, I only had baby spinach and I knoiw they're actually not great for cooking. Do you use regular spinach ?
Neil
Hi Farida. You're welcome! I'm glad you enjoyed the recipe. Don't worry about the colour, as long as it tastes delicious. Also baby spinach is fine for using with any cooking. I used both regular and baby spinach. 🙂
Sarah
Made this last night, it was absolutely delish and I am very pleased that I have leftovers! 😀
Neil
Thanks Sarah. I'm really glad you liked it. It's great to have leftovers for the freezer too isn't it? 🙂