Hot and Sour Chickpeas
This popular Indian street food with lightly spiced gravy is a hit when served with Indian breads. Serve this with Spinach and Thyme Roti Flatbreads (page 76) for a simple but delicious meal, or team it up with Cardamom Chicken (page 43) and Toasted Cumin Chapatis with Orange (page 72) for more elaborate fare.
Serves6
Preparation Time15 min
Cooking Time1 hr
Ingredients
- 3 tablespoons oil
- 1 tablespoon peeled and minced fresh ginger
- 2 tablespoons minced garlic
- 2 fresh green chili peppers, deseeded and minced
- 1 tablespoon ground coriander
- 2 teaspoons ground cumin
- 1/2 teaspoon garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon chili powder
- 2 cups (320 g) dried chickpeas, washed, soaked overnight and drained, or one 16-oz (450-g) can chickpeas, drained and rinsed well
- Salt, to taste
- 1/2 cup (125 ml) water
- 1 teaspoon cumin seeds
- 1 -in (2.5-cm) piece fresh ginger, peeled and cut into matchsticks
- 1 small red onion, sliced
- 2 small tomatoes, diced
- 1/2 cup (20 g) fresh coriander leaves (cilantro), chopped
Instructions
-
Heat 2 tablespoons of the oil in a large saucepan over medium-high heat and add the minced ginger, garlic and chili peppers. Stir until golden, about 1 minute. Add the coriander, cumin, garam masala and chili powder. Mix in the cooked chickpeas, salt and water, and cook, stirring as needed until tender and almost dry, about 5 minutes. Reduce the heat to medium, and cook another 5 minutes to blend the flavors. Transfer to a serving dish and keep warm.
-
Heat the remaining 1 tablespoon of oil in a small saucepan over medium-high heat and add the cumin seeds; they should sizzle upon contact with the hot oil. Quickly add the ginger matchsticks, and then add the onion and tomatoes and cook until golden.
Stir about 1 minute and add to the chickpeas. -
Garnish with the fresh coriander and serve hot.
