Here’s three gastronomic uses from just one recipe:
a main meal, a spicy vegetable side serving for a grill or braai, or a tasty filler – hot or cold – for the handheld food of your choice. What is this handheld food I hear you say? Simply a sandwich, roti wrap, or best of all, a do-it-yourself bunny chow in which the chickpea curry fills the core of a hollowed-out quarter loaf of white bread. It’s one of those eco-friendly meals where you get to eat the packaging …
To make a useful pot of chickpea curry, you will need:
• 500g chickpeas
• ¼ teaspoon bicarbonate of soda
• 1 teaspoon Osman’s garam masala
• A generous pinch of asafoetida (optional)
• 2 large onions
• 25mm fresh root ginger
• 4 cloves fresh garlic
• 3 tomatoes
• 1 teaspoon whole cumin seeds (jeera)
• 1 teaspoon whole coriander seeds (dhania)
• 2 whole chillies
• ½ teaspoon turmeric powder
• 2 sprigs curry leaves
• 1 bunch fresh dhania (coriander) leaves
• 2 potatoes (optional)
• Salt to taste
Wholesome chickpea curry
An uncooked chickpea is damn fine ammo for a light catapult, so either buy canned chickpeas, which are soft and so-so, or get the show on the road 24 hours in advance of the meal. The 24-hour option produces better flavour and texture. F or that, get to work washing the chickpeas, carefully eliminating any little rocky bits of Mother Earth included by the merchant. Soak in water overnight, adding a quarter teaspoon of sodium bicarbonate. I t is now tomorrow. Boil the soaked chickpeas until soft. Depending on the quality this will take between 30 and 60 minutes. Using a potato masher or the weapon of your choice, crush about 25% of the boiled chickpeas into a coarse paste. This will thicken the gravy. Leave the rest whole. P eel and finely chop the garlic and fresh root ginger. Peel and thinly slice the onions. Blanch the tomatoes in boiling water for 60 seconds, which will aid the removal of the skins. Coarsely chop the skinned tomatoes. Peel and dice the potatoes if you’re planning to include them. Attack the chillies. If you’re a sissy, remove the seeds. Real men leave them in.
There’s a lot of evidence chilli-burn is pleasantly addictive because it triggers endorphins, the body’s way of having a good time with neither guilt nor fear. n a dedicated spice grinder or a small mortar and pestle, grind the jeera and dhania seeds to fragrant dust. S elect a heavy-bottomed stainless steel frying pan. Pour in enough sunflower or canola oil to thinly coat the bottom. Bring to medium heat and add the finely chopped ginger and garlic. Let fry for 60 seconds, then add the jeera, dhania, garam masala, turmeric, optional pinch of asafoetida and chillies. Stir together, then add the onions and curry leaves. Sweat the onions until reduced to a transparent, golden hash. Add the tomatoes and, after two minutes or so, pour in the chickpeas and potatoes. Add a little water if the mix looks too thick and let cook for 20 minutes. Add salt to taste and serve with basmati rice or a couple of roti, garnished with the carefully washed dhania leaves. This meal freezes well and comes happily back to life when reheated. It also works cold, but this, like oysters, single-grain Irish whiskey and blonde women without surnames, is an acquired taste. – David Basckin |fw
