Sour Chickpea Curry
Something more substantial today since you might be tired of nuts and spreads. I've made these chickpeas at least four times in the last two months, but haven't gotten around to posting about it. I found the first recipe on the The Wednesday Chef and then on a new blog called The Split Pea. I couldn't ever remember the name of the first one, so have adopted Madhur Jaffrey's name of Sour Chickpea Curry instead. I've mushed the two recipes together, not because theirs weren't good enough, but because I just can't be bothered to follow along sometimes. I generally read the recipe then walk away and do what comes naturally. The biggest thing I changed was adding more tomatoes to make it more saucy (and make it last longer).
As you know, I made a big old pot of chickpeas this week, so we've had this two nights in a row (and hummus for lunch!) and Yancey took the last of it to work with him today. It's easy, filling, nutritious, and tastes like crap. No, of course it's delicious! Sometimes "nutritious," is like saying someone is "interesting." Meaning, not that great, but I won't trashtalk them. You won't want to trashtalk these chickpeas, I promise. The first time I made them was for Emily, and she's been making them ever since.
One thing I love about leftovers is that it gives me permission to relax more at the end of the day. On the way home from the playground yesterday, we took the long way home, and I don't always do that. Sometimes it's because I want/need to get dinner started (and sometimes I'm just tired). We stopped to take a picture of a ladybug, and Wyatt and Oscar ran through the grass along the Chief Sealth Trail. They were so cute yesterday in their school uniforms--companionable, silly, just begging to be photographed.
Sour Chickpea Curry
Mine is a lot redder than yours is likely to be because I threw in a bunch of tomato paste for two reasons: 1) It was leftover and I needed to use it up and 2) I made mine too spicy and needed to tone it down. Yours will be more orange than red, and it's better WITHOUT the tomato paste. The longer this simmers, the better, but I don't think you really need an hour. Do at least 30 minutes if you can--helps the flavors meld and the chickpeas soften more.
2 15 oz. cans chickpeas, drained (or ones you've cooked yourself)
2 15 oz. cans diced tomatoes with juices
1 Tb. canola or olive oil
1 onion, finely chopped
4 cloves minced garlic
2 Tb. minced ginger
1 jalapeno or Thai chile, seeded and finely chopped
1 ts. paprika
2 ts. ground coriander
1 1/2 ts. garam masala
salt (at least 2 ts.)
juice of 1/2 lemon (or more to taste)
cooked rice
chopped cilantro, fresh spinach, and plain yogurt for garnish
Saute onion in a large saucepan with oil until softening, about 5 minutes, then add garlic, ginger, and jalapeno for 5 minutes more. Dump your sauteed mixture in a food processor with the tomatoes, and pulse until pureed. Put tomato mixture back into your saucepan and add paprika, coriander, garam masala, chickpeas, lemon juice, and salt. Simmer for at least 30 minutes, more if you can, adding water if it gets too thick. It will be quite thick when you're done, but you don't want it to burn along the way. Add more salt or lemon juice if you want.
I serve mine thus: chopped fresh spinach lining the bowl, then rice, then curry, then yogurt and cilantro. Oh yeah--red chile flakes too.
May 28, 2009
Reader Comments (29)
Love that mini polaroid with the vibrant red and yellow.
i knew you would come up with something delicious i could make for dinner...now i can also use my spinach from my csa box. :)
Looks delicious! I love chickpeas and spice! Also can appreciate the fodder for your blog ;)
I love chickpeas and this dish looks so flavorful and healthy!
You have a lovely blog :)
Confession - The faux Indian food always creeps me out for a minute. I get over it, but it takes a minute (ok, sometimes a five or ten).
I have these distinct memories of my mother, aunts, and grandmother (never the men) all soaking chick peas and yellow split peas all of the time. And when I say "all", I mean once a month or something. But oh how I came to loathe seeing the metal bowls in the sink with water! We, either the 4 siblings or oodles of cousins, were always asked to fish out all of the shells of the chick peas.
B.O.R.I.N.G. work for a kid, let me tell you.
My point though is that it's hard for me to think about these ingredients in new ways. I have obviously done just fine in terms of eating hummus, but some things come eerily close to that line of "this is sort of like my grandmother's curried peas that I hated, but these probably taste good and so I have to hate them too".
It's hard to explain. I'll try to get clarification on whether it's PTSD.
This is hilarious, pds. You are allowed to shun this recipe. It does not hurt my feelings.
yum, i love chickpeas! i'm glad i found your blog, i'm definitely a fan of using up leftovers.
I'm a little embarrassed to admit this, but this is my first visit to your site via a comment your left on Everybody Loves Sandwiches and I officially have a blog crush on you. I am the biggest fan of leftovers and making dinner out of whatever is in the fridge - it's so refreshing to read that someone else is, too. And then I saw you posted a morning glory muffin recipe and thought, wow, we're exactly on the same page since I just made those recently (not same recipe, but still...). Great pics, great prose, great testament to trying to sit back and enjoy the simple things - well done.
Thanks for mentioning my blog!
One can never go wrong with more tomatoes :). Your version looks really really really good! And lovely photographs and prose.
Um, are these the same thing as canned Garbonzo beans??? :)
Wow, this looks delicious and easy! I'll have to try this one out. I love indian food, but not to keen on the odor it leaves in my house the next day. I always think it smells like stinky feet. Anyway, the addition of lemon juice sounds yummy and looking forward to eating it!
Yes, Nazz. Same thing!
Thank you, Beth! I checked out your blog, and it's wonderful, as well. The crush is mutual :)
Midori - I hated the smell of Indian food in the house when I was growing up. It felt like we were the family with the stinky house. Wait, we were the family with the stinky house! It's funny how time changes things and how much I love the smells now. If any recipe calls for curry powder, we always toss it in hot oil and onions first to bring out those aromas.
(I think curry potatoes and rice might be in my near future!)
pds-It's funny how some things I used to hate as a kid, I now embrace!
Thanks for the tip on tossing the curry power in hot oil first. Also, I have to admit that I enjoy reading your comments here. Thanks for sharing!
By the way, are you hiding behind your hands in your avatar pic?
@Midori - To me curry powder on its own seems grainy and lacking verve; it screams for the oil. Then again, that's all because of my warped history.
Yes, those are my hands hiding. I'm an attention whore, don't get me wrong. But in this case, the face pic doesn't quite work on the interwebz.
And I love reading your comments as well. I feel like we're forming a wee mini-community, which I quite like.
pds- :)
I made this today for dinner (I know it's only 2:30 in the afternoon) and it's so fantastic! I can't wait to sit down and eat it withthe family! I took pds' advice and tossed the onion and the spices in the hot oil. The first thing my son said was, "What is that yummy smell!"
okay...I am going to make this dish this week and want to clarify this whole tossing the spices in the onion and oil so I don't mess it up.
Does this mean add the spices while sauteeing the onion? If so, for how long - just at the end or all the while?
Any advice would be appreciated!!
Hi Angie! You could follow the recipe which has you add the spices more toward the end, OR you could add the dried spices (paprika, coriander, garam masala, salt) in with the onion. You really can't go wrong either way. If you're doing the latter, let the onion saute long enough so there's some moisture in the pan (a couple minutes) then add the spices. Does that make sense?
Wow! 20 comments on this one!!! Going to make this too. I only need your blog now to make a grocery list, plan a menu! Well, your blog and my trusty Lee Bailey's Desserts cookbook. And...my pancakes & waffles cookbook. Oh...and Barefoot Contessa. So great that I can look up your recipes anytime on my blackberry at the store or out and about!
Thanks Sarah! I have all the ingredients now - can't wait to try this out! Tonight I'm making Blasted Broccoli Bowl finally- chicken is marinating- yum!
Sister...made this last night and everyone loved it. Hannah Mae was even chanting "chickpea in my lunch! chickpea in my lunch!" this morning...wanting the leftovers to take in her school lunch. Delicious. Much better than the TJ's ones I have bought in the past...their jars of sauces.
Praise from a 3-year old is priceless. That cutie.
we just had this again for the umpteenth time and i have to say it is amazing! I don't know if you read comments from older posts but we (my family and friends) so appreciate your cooking style! And i love to read your comments about life & family too.