If you have already got tired with my obsession with beans, namely chickpeas, wait a minute! I have not yet introduced you to my biggest chickpea-love. Yes, there’s more.. and if what you saw earlier (here and here) were the hilly Trondheim or the high Norwegian mountains, here comes the Himalayas. Literally.
Being an Indian to the core, our weekday dinners are quite incomplete without a legume item – if we are eating as they do way back at home. There are many types of legumes and many ways of cooking them – mostly healthy, sometimes spicy or else subtle, and no doubt, especially tasty and flavorful. You can take a peek here and there for ideas.
Chickpeas are treated a little specially, however. While legumes or beans, the preparations of which we normally call ‘Dahl’ in India, is served in the first rounds, just after the appetizers, the ‘Chole’ or the chickpea preparation is sort of a climax food that is eaten after Dahl or any other sabzi (vegetable dish) – towards the end of the meal.
If I am going to talk about the Indian (particularly, the traditional Bengali way; Note that every part of India is especially distinct when it comes to food or costumes and culture or language; Chole is largely a Punjabi dish although popular among all Indians) sequence of serving food, it might sound like the sequential appearance of Hollywood celebrities at the MTV award giving function. The new and less important ones at the beginning and the senior, more popular ones when things have thickened quite a bit, at those special rounds.
Towards the Northern part of the country, people however care less for variety at meal time, much unlike the foodies in eastern India. A Razma curry or a Chole preparation served with Naan (an Indian leavened bread) or Chawal (rice – usually steaming hot), not to mention the pickles, is nothing short of a celebration. And that it really is with its mingling, fresh mélange of spices – a blend that sort of revives your chakras as your senses are shaken to the core and start to absorb the natural, herbal qualities of cumin (jeera), coriander (dhaniya), and fenugreek (methi). And tomato and cilantro.
A small word of caution: During the whole of my stay out of India, I have heard thousands of people telling that they love Indian food, which is genuine and sincere. The problem is with this part: Mostly ‘Indian’ cooking at non-Indian homes comes down to the use of curry powders. Simple, isn’t it? And if you think why your Indian dishes doesn’t resemble much of the restaurant food or those served at Indian homes, well, the reason lies here. The Indian curry masala that you buy from the stores are as much to Indian cooking as your T*** or YL*** tea bags are to Darjeeling or Assam tea. Perhaps you know what I mean.
Two spices that you cannot do without while cooking (North) Indian are:
~ The cumin and
~ The coriander
(Not to mention the Turmeric since the strong flavor often causes more discomfort to unfamiliar taste buds than is good; although the yellowish-red color is very much a signature of Indian cooking.)
Procure and stock at least these two in whole seed or powdered forms if you are fond of cooking Indian food at home. And you will see the mammoth difference they bring to the flavor and taste of your home cooked Indian food.
Chole – Garbanzo Beans or Chickpeas in Hot Indian Curry
When it comes to cooking chickpeas Indian style, or the Chole, I prefer the aroma of the freshly ground spices than the already powdered ones. And this doesn’t make it a tad difficult as you will see.
What do you need?
~ Chickpeas - 3 cups (canned or boiled)
~ Onion - 1 cup chopped (about 2 medium sized ones)
~ Tomatoes – 2 chopped if fresh or about 2 teaspoons or a balanced mix of both
~ Ginger – ½ inch, chopped or grated
~ Garlic – 3 medium or 2 big cloves, minced (To make it simpler, you can use a blender to make a paste of the garlic and ginger. In that case, use 2-3 tablespoons of water)
~ Turmeric powder – ½ teaspoon (optional)
~ Coriander seeds - 1 teaspoon
~ Cumin seeds - 1 and 1/2 teaspoon
~ Fenugreek seeds - 1/2 teaspoon(skip if you don't have at hand)
~ Black peppers – as per taste- this only makes it hot
~ Paprika - 1/2 tea spoon (You can use chili powder only if you can tolerate the heat; otherwise use any form of paprika that you are comfortable with)
~ Vegetable oil – 1 tablespoon (just enough for frying the onion)
~ Fresh cilantro – 1 sprig (it's easier to forget this if you don't have it at hand - I did the same today)
~ Salt – ½ teaspoon or more to taste
~ Garam Masala = 1 green cardamom + 2-3 cloves
~Water - 2 cups (or more if you wish)
What should you do?
1. I assume you already know how to soak and cook dried chickpeas. Or simply wash well if using canned ones. Collect the cumin, coriander, and fenugreek seeds along with the garam masala and black peppers in a ramekin or small microwave-resistant bowl and dry roast in a microwave at Medium for 15 seconds. Take out, stir with a spoon, and dry roast for 10 seconds more. You will have the distinct aroma of the fresh spices fill in the room - this is absolutely absent when you use powdered ones. But feel free to skip this step if you are using powdered spices instead of whole ones. In that case, however, mix them in 2 tablespoons of water (little more, if needed) to make a thick paste and set aside.
2. Use a mortar and pestle or anything else that fits the bill and your arm power to coarsely grind the roasted masala.
3. In a deep bottomed pan, heat the oil. Add onions and fry till they are brownish. Add paprika powder and stir for only half a minute - till your kitchen is filled with the sweet fragrance of paprika but take care not to burn the paprika. Add ginger and garlic and continue to stir-fry – 5 more minutes.
4. Stir in the dry ground spices or the paste - whichever is being used. Stir and wait a couple of minutes and add the tomato puree or chopped tomato (or half of both), and a pinch of salt and sugar. (If you have cooked the chickpeas with salt, be really careful about how much salt you add now.) Stir till all the spices are fried and fragrant. Approximately 5 minutes.
5. Pour in the chickpeas (it supposedly shouldn't have much water along), mix very well, cover, and let cook for 6 to 8 minutes. Add the water, cover, and let boil for a couple of minutes. Check the curry now - if you think it is too thick, add more water and let it boil. Lower heat and simmer for a few more minutes. Done.
Serving tips:
Let it sit for sometime, approximately 10 minutes before serving. The gravy tends to thicken a bit as it cools. Garnish with coriander leaves, finely chopped scallions or leeks, and a teaspoon of lemon juice or yoghurt, if you are feeling fancy. Serve hot with Naan, Bhature, or steaming white rice. Or customize – spoon over nicely toasted whole wheat bread. If planning to eat it just like that: garnish with a teaspoon each of shallots/leeks/fresh onions and tomato and generously sprinkle lemon juice – this gives the dish that tangy ‘chaat’ type attitude.
Don’t forget to ask me over. Yummmm..
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