Black Chickpea Curry

When I visited my sister-in-law in Californis this summer, I had the opportunity to flip through a cookbook called Vij's. She told me he had a flourishing restaurant in Canada, that had the most amazing food. This recipe is from that book. If black chickpeas are hard to find you can most certainly use the regular chickpeas. I have tweaked the recipe a little bit from the original. ENJOY!

1 cup dried black or regular chickpeas (or 1-15ounce can)
1 tablespoon black tea tied in a cheesecloth sachet.

 

½ cup ghee (I use ¼ cup butter and ¼ cup canola oil)

1½ tbsp cumin seeds (not ground)

2 medium onions (1 pound), chopped

2 tbsp finely chopped garlic ( about 6 large cloves)

1 large juicy tomato, finely chopped (or about 1 cup of canned, diced tomatoes)

1 large jalapeno pepper, finely chopped

1 tbsp garam masala

½ tbsp mango powder

1 tsp turmeric

1 tsp ground fenugreek seeds

1 tsp salt

½ tsp cayenne pepper

1 cup water, (if using canned chickpeas only)

½ cup chopped cilantro

 

Add boiled, drained chickpeas (or canned chickpeas, drained). Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cilantro.

If using dried chickpeas, rinse in a colander then soak overnight or with the 1 hour quick soak method outlined above. Place soaked, drained chickpeas in 9 cups of salted water. Add your little sachet of tea and bring to a boil then reduce to a simmer and cook for 1 hour. Reserve 1 cup of cooking liquid and drain. You can pressure cook this as well. Its much faster.

 

Meanwhile, in a separate large pot, heat ghee (or butter/oil) on medium high for 1 minute. Add cumin seeds and allow them to sizzle for about 30 seconds. Add onions and cook until golden brown, about 10 minutes. Add garlic and saute 2-3 minutes. Stir in tomatoes, then add jalapeno pepper, garam masala, mango powder, turmeric, fenugreek, salt and cayenne. Reduce heat to medium and cook until oil glistens on top (about 5-8 minutes).

Stir in reserved chickpea water or 1 cup fresh water if using canned chickpeas.
Add boiled, drained chickpeas (or canned chickpeas, drained). Bring to a boil on medium-high heat, then reduce to low and simmer for 20 minutes or until thickened. Stir in cilantro. Make sure to use a total of one cup of water for either soaked or canned chickpeas.

 

 Serve with hot indian bread or basmati rice. My kids enjoy chickpeas served any which way. I am sure yours will too!