This falafel curry is a brilliant way to serve falafel, coated in a creamy, spicy sauce - it makes such a hearty, filling vegetarian curry! Perfect served over rice or with naan bread for dipping.
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Falafel might not be an ingredient you often find in curry, but it works so well! The creamy curry sauce coats the falafel beautifully, like little chickpea dumplings. It's full of flavour, and easy to make too - read on to find out how!
How to serve falafel
Falafel is such a vegan staple - it's one of those things that will feature as the vegan option in 90% of restaurants these days.
But it's often served in the same way - just on its own, with some salad and pitta bread, maybe a bit of hummus.
This may be the traditional way to eat falafel, but I always like to do things a bit differently, and I think falafel curry might just be my new favourite way to serve falafel!
Just coat the crispy falafel in a silky smooth curry sauce, and they become soft and moist and extra tasty. It's a revelation!
How to make falafel curry
The falafel curry starts with a super simple curry sauce. Cook off some sliced onions with garlic, chilli and ginger (the smell in your house will already be amaaaazing by this point).
Then, add a couple of ground spices (nothing fancy, just a couple of things that you can find in any supermarket), some tinned tomatoes, and a can of coconut milk. I also added a big handful of fresh spinach.
That's your curry sauce done!
Just let it simmer away for a while so the flavours can develop, and it becomes beautifully rich and silky, with a deep orange colour.
Goodlife falafel
Next up, the falafel!
I used shop-bought falafel to make my falafel curry, which I would definitely recommend, as by the time I'd made the sauce and prepared my rice and naan, I wouldn't have wanted to stand around making falafel from scratch too. There's a time and a place for cooking things from scratch, but for me, 2020 isn't it.
I used this falafel from Goodlife, which is without a doubt my favourite shop-bought falafel. I sometimes find falafel a little dry, which this one isn't at all (especially when you dunk it in curry sauce!), it cooks up beautifully, and it's flavoured with lemon, cumin and coriander, so it's super duper tasty.
Goodlife also make loads of other amazing vegetarian products, and I love how they're all centred around vegetables, rather than aiming to replicate meat, and they're all made with natural ingredients.
It's so nice to see so many creative and exciting vegetarian products these days - the Goodlife mushroom and spinach kievs almost always feature in my weekly shop (a mushroom mixture stuffed with a super garlicky cheese sauce?! yes please), and the vegetable protein balls are so handy to chuck in the oven for an easy dinner for the kids (we love serving them in bread rolls as a kind of meatball sub!).
I've actually not tried a single Goodlife product that I've not thoroughly enjoyed, so definitely look for them if you're in the UK (I get mine from Sainsbury's).
Just cook your falafel in the oven, and add it to the curry sauce. Job done.
Look how nice and crispy it gets...
Then when you toss it through the curry sauce, it soaks it up ever so slightly, helping the falafel to stay moist, while also holding their shape.
The falafel ends up functioning a bit like an Indian kofta, which is a bit like a meatball (or a vegetarian equivalent!). It makes such a hearty and filling curry.
This falafel curry is just the sort of thing you could serve to guests, especially meat-eating guests, as there's no way they could feel hungry or unsatisfied by this hearty vegan meal.
📖 Printable Recipe
Easy falafel curry
If you've cooked this recipe, don't forget to leave a star rating!
Print Pin CommentIngredients
- ~ 18 pieces of falafel (6 per person)
- 1 tablespoon oil
- 1 red onion, thinly sliced
- 4 cloves garlic, minced
- 1 mild red chilli, finely chopped
- ½ teaspoon ginger paste (or fresh minced ginger)
- 1 teaspoon ground turmeric
- 1 teaspoon garam masala
- 400 g tin (~ 1 ⅓ cups) chopped tomatoes
- 400 ml (~ 1 ½ cups) tinned coconut milk (I used light)
- Large handful fresh spinach
- Salt
- Black pepper
Instructions
- Bake the falafel according to the instructions on the packet - it should take around 20 minutes. Make sure it's nice and crispy.
- Meanwhile, heat a dash of oil in a deep frying pan, and add the sliced onion, garlic, chilli, and ginger. Cook over a medium heat for around 5 minutes, until the onion has softened. Add the turmeric and garam masala, and cook for a few minutes more. You can add a dash of water if the mixture feels too dry - it should be the texture of a paste.
- Next add the tin of chopped tomatoes and the coconut milk, and bring to a gentle simmer. Leave it to cook for a while - the exact timing doesn't really matter, but at least 10 minutes or so will give a nice rich sauce (a bit longer is fine too!).
- Add a handful of spinach to the sauce, and allow it to wilt for a couple of minutes, then add the crispy falafel. Stir gently to coat the falafel in the sauce, season to taste, and serve immediately.
Nutrition
Nutritional information is approximate, and will depend on your exact ingredients. Please calculate your own nutritional values if you require accuracy for health reasons.
Here's another hearty vegan curry - slow cooker chickpea curry:
Maja says
Very delicious sauce.
Maybe I’m blind, but I don’t see where I am supposed to add the chili, so I added it after the spices and I added a pinch of sugar to balance the sauce.
Will make again.
Becca Heyes says
Ah you're right, sorry! I've edited the recipe to add the chilli at the same time as the garlic. Thanks!
[email protected] says
I don't find this very easy and to be honest it's not that tasty either...
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Thanks for the feedback Flora. May I ask what you didn't find easy about it? It's pretty much just mixing ingredients in a pan and leaving them to simmer!
Helen Kennedy says
I've made this twice now, such an easy, tasty sauce. As there are only two of us, I divided the sauce for a second night and poured each portion over the falafel rather than putting them in the sauce. It was even better the second night. Thank you.
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Thanks Helen! Glad you enjoyed it!
Jo says
This is a lovely recipe and such a genius idea to use falafel in curry! I have now made a big batch of the sauce in portions for the freezer, so all I have to do is cook the falafel, warm the sauce and have an easy midweek family dinner. I hadn't eaten Goodlife before but I have tried quite a few products now and like others have enjoyed them all. Thank you Becca
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
That's a great idea! Glad you enjoyed it, and that I could inspire you to discover all the Goodlife products! :)
Jackie says
Oh yes! What an excellent idea, Becca! These have gone into my Tesco basket straight away! 😋 Actually, I'm tempted to add them to your lentil and halloumi curry which I make on the reg.
Totally agree about those Goodlife kievs too!
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
That would be good too! Glad I could inspire you :)
Wayne says
Are these measurements UK?
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
I'm in the UK, yes, but I provide as much detail as I can in the ingredient measurements, so you should be able to make my recipes wherever you are in the world :)
M.S. says
Thank you SO MUCH for this recipe. My family has some complex dietary stuff and not only can everyone eat this, everyone likes it. Plus, it’s super easy and adaptable spice wise. I’m in the USA and Trader Joe’s makes a delicious frozen falafel that works wonderfully in this recipe.
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Thank you! Really glad this one works for you all :D
Philippa Clarke says
I too, have never met a Good Life product I didn't absolutely love! The falafels hold together beautifully and having endured some, which are capable of drawing all of the saliva out of one's mouth, these are top notch! And as much as I love cooking from scratch, there are some days when you need a speedy option! Thanks for finding yet another way to enjoy these gems!
Becca @ Easy Cheesy Vegetarian says
Glad you love them as much as I do! I had one of the mushroom kievs for dinner last night, always a winner :)