Tasty Trinidad Curry Channa and Aloo Recipe

Trinidad curry channa and aloo is a delicious T&T favorite.

It is made with chickpeas (or channa), potatoes (or aloo), and a curry powder blend unique to the Caribbean.

This curry is not the same as the East Indian version. But, it is still as tasty.

What is in this curry channa and aloo recipe

For this recipe, you’ll need:

• dry channa or chickpeas or garbanzo beans
• potatoes
• onion
• garlic
• Caribbean green seasoning with chadon beni, Spanish thyme, garlic, and pepper
• curry powder (which contains coriander, turmeric, cumin, fenugreek, salt, fennel, mustard and chilies – the local Chief brand is most popular)
• baking powder
• sugar
• salt
• pepper
• oil

How to make Trinidad curry channa and aloo

Here’s how to make trini curry channa and aloo.

Soak the channa

Dried chickpeas must be soaked before cooking – otherwise you’ll be left cooking the peas for hours.

Check the chickpeas to remove any odd looking bits and peas. Rinse thoroughly.

Next, place in a bowl with water. You’ll want to use four to five times more water than peas as they will swell.

Cover the bowl and leave on the countertop overnight or for at least 6 hours.

The next morning, be sure to rinse the chickpeas thoroughly (at least three times) to remove any of the overnight liquid.

If you plan on using canned chickpeas, you can skip this step. Open the can and rinse the chickpeas properly.

Season the channa

With the channa thoroughly washed, it is time to season it.

Mix the peas with baking powder, sugar and half of a teaspoon of salt. Add green seasoning and pepper too.

You can make your own fresh green seasoning at this point by grinding washed chadon beni (culantro) leaves, cilantro, Spanish thyme, fine thyme, peeled garlic cloves, and pepper with a little water.

Set the seasoned channa aside.

Prep all other ingredients

Peel and chop the potatoes, onion and garlic cloves.

Sauté the aromatics

Place a large pot on medium heat. Leave it to heat up before adding vegetable oil.

Next, add your chopped onions and cook for a few minutes until translucent. Next, add the garlic and pepper.

If you’ve used enough pepper in the freshly grated green seasoning, you can skip adding pepper at this point.

Sauté everything for another minute or two.

Cook the curry

Add the curry powder to the onion and garlic. Mix thoroughly. If the curry powder is too dry, you can add a little more oil.

Stir often to patch the curry powder for two minutes. You’ll want that curry to cook thoroughly.

After the two minutes, add about a quarter cup of water.

Stir and leave to cook down to form a thick curry paste. This can take about five to ten minutes, depending on the heat.

Add the channa and potatoes

With the curry well cooked, it is time to add the seasoned chickpeas and potatoes. Stir to make sure the curry thoroughly coats the ingredients.

Continue to stir often to prevent the ingredients from sticking to the pot. They should release a little water of their own. If the pot is too hot and the ingredients begin to stick, add about a quarter cup of water and stir.

Cook for about ten minutes.

Add water

As the ingredients start to soften, add enough water to cover the chickpeas and potatoes. The water level should be about one to two inches above the peas.

Leave to cook until the chickpeas and potatoes are fully cooked. This can take anywhere from 40 minutes to an hour.

Don’t cover the pot while cooking since the water can bubble over.

When completely cooked, crush a few chickpeas into the curry sauce. Doing this will thicken the sauce nicely.

Taste test and add any additional salt.

What to serve with channa and aloo

Curry channa and aloo is a very versatile side dish. Enjoy it with buss-up-shut roti or dhalpuri roti. Other vegan sides like pumpkin, mango talkari and sweet rice are served after Hindu prayer ceremonies and at Hindu weddings.

Curry channa and aloo, pumpkin, curry chicken, and curry duck alongside roti make a great Trini lunch.

This dish goes well with rice too.

Curry channa and aloo recipe

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