Alison Powell
Inspired by a particularly tasty Chole Bhature that I enjoyed one hot, sunny lunchtime at Chai St in Cardiff recently, I went home to see what I could rustle up with chickpeas and spices. This chickpea curry is the result. It’s quick, cheap, easy and above all, tasty.
Serves four:
- 2 medium onions
- 2 cloves of garlic
- Olive or vegetable oil
- 2 x 400g tins of chickpeas (drained)
- Chilli (depends on how spicy you like it – therefore adjust to personal preference)
- Black pepper and salt
- Heaped teaspoon of turmeric
- Heaped teaspoon of ground ginger
- 2 x 400g tins of chopped tomatoes
- Heaped tablespoon of garam masala
How to:
- Roughly chop the two onions and peel and crush the garlic. Pop into a heavy pan with the oil and turn on a low heat to soften. Cook slowly to prevent anything burning and stir very gently. Could take around ten minutes.
- Keep it on a low heat and add the chilli, turmeric, ground ginger, a good pinch of salt and grind of black pepper. Stir everything together and then add the chick peas. Mix to coat them in the spicy, oniony oil.
- Tip in the two tins of tomatoes and half fill each can with water, swill around and add to the pan. Turn the temperature up, bring to the boil, give it a good stir and then reduce to simmer.
- After about 15 minutes, add the garam masala and give it all a good mix. Let it simmer away for another 15 minutes.
- You can serve this straight away, with yogurt, chutney and some naan or boiled rice. You can sprinkle with chopped coriander or some caramelised onions. It is really tasty if you reheat it the next day, once the spices have had a chance to really mingle.