Chickpea Curry

Here is my recipe for chickpea curry, the perfect comfort food which is guaranteed to put a warm smile on anyone's face. I'm sure most people would agree that chickpeas and curry are both delicious foods, and when combined together they're a match made in heaven and a food fit for the Gods. This is a reasonably mild curry and one that's safe to offer most people, but it can be made hotter if you wish. It has a rich, clingy sauce and can be served with any leavened or unleavened bread of your choosing, such as pitta bread, roti, chapati or naan. It's also very tasty when served on buttered toast and topped with poached or fried eggs, sort of like a spicy version of beans on toast.

Chickpea Curry

Given how Indian cuisine is predominantly vegetarian, lentils and pulses play an important role as a source of protein. There are many varieties of lentils and pulses available in India, and they come in colours red, green, white, cream, yellow, brown and black. They vary in size from small to large, and can be spherical, circular, ovoid or oval in shape. They can be whole or split, polished and with or without skins. There are literally thousands of recipes in India that contain lentils or pulses, and although lentils and pulses are often synonymous with the word 'dal', it's only lentils or pulses which have been split that are referred to as dals in India. For example, urad, chana and masoor are three popular varieties of Indian pulses, and in their whole form they are called urad, chana and masoor, but once split they are called urad dal, chana dal and masoor dal.

Ingredients:

• 500g dry chickpeas
• 1.5-litres cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 black cardamom, cracked
• 4 cloves
• 1/2-inch piece cassia bark
• 800ml cold water
• 2 teaspoons coriander seeds
• 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon fennel seeds
• 1/4 teaspoon black peppercorns
• 1 teaspoon turmeric
• 1/2 teaspoon chilli powder
• 1/2 teaspoon paprika
• 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
• 3 tablespoons oil
• 400g finely diced white onion
• 3–4 garlic cloves, peeled and finely chopped
• 1-inch piece fresh ginger, peeled and finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons coarse sea salt or salt to taste
• 12 tablespoons (200g) blended chopped tinned tomato
• 1–2 fresh finger chillies (red or green), sliced into thin rings
• 1 teaspoon amchoor powder
• 1/2 teaspoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Method:

1. Sift through the chickpeas to make sure there are no stones or twigs and then place them into a large bowl. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in a small amount of hot water and then pour it into the 1.5-litres of cold water. Pour the water over the chickpeas, cover and leave to soak overnight.


2. Drain the chickpeas and rinse well. Place them into a pressure cooker, along with the black cardamom, cloves, cassia bark and 800ml of cold water. Cover and cook at full pressure for 15 minutes. Release the pressure and then remove and discard the whole spices. Set aside.


3. Place the coriander seeds, cumin seeds, fennel seeds and black peppercorns into an electric coffee grinder and grind until fine. Add the turmeric, chilli powder, paprika and garam masala and pulse a few more times until everything is well mixed. Set aside.


4. Heat the oil in a heavy bottomed pot over medium heat and add the onion. Mix well and fry for 8–10 minutes, stirring often to prevent sticking, until soft and translucent.


5. Reduce the heat to medium-low and add the garlic, ginger and salt. Mix well and continue to fry for a further 30–40 minutes or until the mixture turns golden brown.


6. Once the onion mixture has turned golden brown add the ground spices and mix well to ensure they are incorporated into the oil. Next, add the blended chopped tinned tomato and mix again. Fry the mixture for 8–10 minutes, stirring often, until it turns a few shades darker and the oil starts to separate. When the oil separates this means the spices are cooked.


7. Add the chickpeas and all of the cooking liquid, along with the fresh finger chillies, amchoor powder and kasoori methi. Mix well and bring to a steady simmer over medium heat. Once simmering, reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

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Notes:

• The best chillies to use in this recipe are Capsicum annuum or Capsicum frutescens varieties. Avoid using Capsicum chinense varieties because they will completely destroy the flavour of the curry.


• If you don't own a pressure cooker then you can boil the chickpeas instead. Place them into a large saucepan, along with the whole spices. Cover with several inches of water and then boil briskly for an hour or more, or until soft. Once cooked, remove and discard the whole spices and retain 500ml of the cooking liquid. Strain the chickpeas and place them into a large bowl, along with the 500ml of retained cooking liquid and then add this mixture to the pot at step 7. There should be at least 500ml of cooking liquid remaining after cooking the chickpeas. However, if you have less than this amount then just use what remainder you do have and then make it up to 500ml using a sufficient amount of hot water.


• The recipe calls for amchoor powder, which is a souring agent made from dried unripe green mangoes. If you don't have this then use 1–2 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lime juice instead.


• You can make the sauce a little thicker by crushing 2–3 tablespoons of the chickpeas and then stirring them back into the pot.