Chickpea curry

Quick & easy curry. Soak dried chickpeas overnight, then boil in water with a half teaspoon of bicarbonate of soda until tender. Use instead of canned chickpeas.

Serves: 4

Prep Time: 15 minutes

Cooking Time: 15 minutes

Source: Weekend, pg 83. Saturday April 27 2019, The Times

Igredients: 4 tbsp rapeseed oil 1 tsp cumin seeds ½ tsp ajwain (carom) seeds 4 green cardamom pods, bruised 5cm cinnamon stick 2 red onions, roughly chopped 2 tbsp garlic and ginger paste (blend equal amounts of garlic and ginger with a little water) 1 tsp chilli powder (more or less to taste) ½ tsp ground turmeric 2 tsp ground cumin 1 tsp ground coriander 3 large tomatoes, diced 3 x 400g tins chickpeas, drained Salt To serve ½ tsp garam masala Chopped coriander Juice of 1 lemon Finely chopped chillies (optional) Raw, julienned ginger (optional)

Method: 1 Heat the oil in a large wok or frying pan over a medium-high heat. When hot, stir in the cumin seeds, ajwain (carom) seeds, cardamom pods and cinnamon stick. Temper these whole spices in the oil for about 30 seconds, then add the chopped onions. Fry the onions for about 5 minutes, until soft and lightly browned. 2 Spoon in the garlic and ginger paste and sizzle for another 30 seconds before adding the ground spices and tomatoes. Give this all a good stir, then pour in the chickpeas. Stir well and add a little water if you like a bit more sauce. Simmer for about 5 minutes, then add salt to taste. 3 To finish, garnish with the garam masala and chopped coriander. Squeeze in the lemon juice and serve with the chopped chillies and ginger, if you like.