Dan!

s Chickpea Curry: Easy and Hard Variants

Curry powder blend

1 tablespoon (tbsp) cumin seeds
1 teaspoon (tsp) black peppercorns
1 tsp coriander seeds
3/4 tsp black mustard seeds
2 tbsp red chile powder or paprika
1 tbsp cinnamon
1 tbsp turmeric powder
1/4 tsp or more cayenne pepper (optional)
pinch curry leaves (optional)

The Hard Way (preferred)
1 cup dry normal chickpeas
1 cup dry dark brown chickpeas ("kala chana" in Indian/Pakistani
shops)

The Easy Way

1-2 cans normal chickpeas
0-1 cans dark brown chickpeas (usually obtainable in S. Asian shops)

The rest of the ingredients:

Pinch each of black mustard seeds and cumin seeds (whole, not
powdered/ground)
2 1/2 tablespoons mustard seed oil
1 Red onion, large
8-10 cloves garlic, peeled
2-3 thumbs fresh ginger, peeled
1-4 medium green chile peppers (jalapeno-type) more or less for
heat. Seeds remove
1 Red pepper (bell pepper or pointy pepper) - chopped into 1 cm bits.
Fresh coriander (-12 good sized handfuls)
2 Tbsp tomato paste
Salt to taste

Optional First Step (chickpeas from dry in pressure cooker)

1. Soak chickpeas overnight or at least 8 hours in water.
2. Cook chickpeas in pressure cooker. Cook normal and dark brown
ones separately in batches. Cover with fresh water (not the water
they soaked in), add pinch of salt, a crushed glove of garlic, a splash
of oil [keeps foaming down] and bring pressure cooker to pressure.
3. Cooking time approx 15 mins for regular chickpeas, 12 mins for
brown ones. Remove from heat, let cool. If they're not really fully
done, don't worry too much, they'll cook some more later.
(If pressure cooker is not available, cook in a pot of water until
done It'll take ages even if they've been soaked.)

Making the curry powder

1. In a dry sauce pan, add the cumin seeds, coriander seeds,
mustard seeds, and black pepper corns.
2. Heat on high heat for a few minutes until seeds are fragrant. Toss
a few times to keep from burning. Remove from heat.
3. In a grinder or mortar and pestle, grind the toasted seeds.
4. Mix the cinnamon, chile powder, turmeric, and optional ingredients.
Reserve

Making the Chickpea curry:

1. Peel the onion and quarter it. Using a blender or food processor
grind the onion to a puree.
2.Add mustard seed oil to heavy cooking pot over medium-high heat.
3. Add pinch of mustard seed and pinch of cumin seeds to oil.
4. Once seeds start to crackle and hiss, add the pureed onion to pot.
Stir frequently.
5. While onion is cooking, put garlic, green chiles, and ginger in
blender/food processor and grind to a puree.
6. After 5-6 minutes, add chile/garlic/ginger paste to pot. Stir
thoroughly to mix it in, then stir occasionally to keep from sticking.
Add a little oil if necessary to keep it from sticking.
7. 3-4 mins after adding the chile/garlic/ginger mix, add the red
pepper cubes. Stir and continue to cook for a few minutes.
8. Add your curry powder mix (from above) and a pinch of salt (you
can add more later) and stir thoroughly. Cook for 30 secs or so.
Some will like stick to the bottom but that's ok.
9. Add about 100 ml of water, stir, and make sure that the curry
powder mix dissolves. Use a wooden spoon or spatula to make sure
you get the curry powder stuck to the pot to dissolve.
10. Add chickpeas. Add water to cover the chickpeas, and a bit
more if you want it more of a soup/stew consistency. Bring to boil,
then turn down to a simmer.
11. Add tomato paste and stir to ensure it is mixed in.
12. If your chickpeas are canned or already well cooked, you only
need a few minutes cooking time. If you are using chickpeas that
need a little more cooking time you can simmer for as long as
needed.
13. Chop the coriander roughly and add a few minutes before
serving.
14. Add salt to taste.


Serving suggestions: Serve as is, or with rice, naan, and/or
pappadums and chutney.

Variants:

! Add more chiles
! Add fresh coriander leaves when you serve
! Add 6-7 cloves, a tsp of fenugreek seeds, and/or 2-3 cardamon pods to the
seeds for your curry powder mix.
! Omit dry turmeric. Use a finger sized fresh turmeric root finely sliced and
chopped be careful your fingers will be yellow for days.
! Add a pinch of crushed saffron threads with the water
! Chop up a medium or large aubergine/eggplant into 1.5 cm cubes. Add
with chickpeas. Make sure there!s about 20-25 mins cooking time if you
do this. Test to make sure the aubergine is done. Don!t worry about the
chickpeas, they can take as much cooking time as you want, but the
aubergine will need to be cooked thoroughly.
! Add a chopped carrot when you add the red pepper