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.

Chickpea Ingredients:

• 500g dry chickpeas
• 2.3-litres cold water
• 1/2 teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• Hot water
• 1 black cardamom, cracked
• 4 cloves
• 1/2-inch piece cassia bark

Method:

1. Check the dry chickpeas to make sure there are no unwanted pieces, such as any damaged pieces or small stones, and then place them into a large bowl.


2. Dissolve the bicarbonate of soda in a small amount of hot water and then pour it into 1.5-litres of the cold water. Pour this water over the dry chickpeas, cover and then leave to soak overnight.


3. The following day, drain the chickpeas and rinse well under cold running water.


4. Place the rinsed chickpeas into a pressure cooker, along with the black cardamom, cloves, cassia bark and the remaining 800ml of cold water. Cover and cook at full pressure for 15 minutes. After 15 minutes, release the pressure and then remove and discard the whole spices. Set the mixture aside.

Chickpea Curry Ingredients:

• 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
• 200g blended plum tinned tomato
• 1–2 fresh finger chillies (red or green), finely chopped
• 1 teaspoon amchoor powder (dried mango powder)
• 1/2 teaspoon kasoori methi (dried fenugreek leaves)

Method:

1. 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.


2. 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.


3. 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.


4. 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 plum 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.


5. Add the cooked chickpeas and all of the cooking liquid, along with the fresh 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 gently for about 20 minutes, stirring occasionally to prevent sticking.

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Notes:

• For more information about helpful curry cooking tips and techniques click here.


• The recipe calls for 1 teaspoon of amchoor powder to be added at step 5. Amchoor is a souring agent made from dried unripe green mangoes. If you can't get hold of this ingredient then you can use 2–3 teaspoons of freshly squeezed lime juice instead.


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


• If you don't own a pressure cooker then you can boil the chickpeas instead. To do this, place them into a large saucepan, along with the whole spices. Cover with several inches of cold water and then bring to the boil. Boil briskly for about an hour or until soft. Once cooked, remove and discard the whole spices and strain the mixture into bowl through a colander. Place the cooked chickpeas into another bowl and then mix them with 500ml of the retained cooking liquid. This mixture can then be added to the pot at step 5. There should be at least 500ml of cooking liquid remaining after straining the chickpeas. However, if there is less than this amount then just retain what remainder you do have and then make up the total volume to 500ml using a sufficient amount of hot water.