Message #11947

[Heba]

BismAllah .... and salaams folks. 

CHICKEN CURRY WITH CHICKPEAS

This chickpea curry is also pretty popular in the Arab world and Afghanistan, often added with white meat.  Here's a nice variation of this recipe.  One of the few dishes my husband can cook is chicken curry with chickpeas    Yesterday I had a busy day taking the kids to their school get-together party (they go to a Muslm school of course).  We returned home at 7.30 p.m.  I thought all of us would have to drive down to a nearby Halal pizza shop for dinner as it was too late to start cooking.  But what a surprise!  My husband made ready a big pot of chicken curry with chickpeas for the family along with boiled rice and fried seasoned potatoes!  Our condo unit carried the fragrance of an exquisite restaurant !!    And it was no haphazard work.  He really made it quite professionally 

The recipe is as follows.  The measurements of ingredients are reduced in the given recipe and will suffice for 3 or 4 people.   Ours is a bigger family so the ingredients were used in larger quantities. 


   

Ingredients

1 tablespoon cooking oil or little more if desired
1 large onion, diced
1  skinless, boneless chicken breast - cut into cubes
garlic and ginger paste 1 tsp
1 teaspoon cumin powder
1 teaspoon coriander powder
Half teaspoon curry powder (optional)
1 teaspoon garam masala powder
1  can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
2 teaspoon tomato paste
1 tablespoon lemon juice (optional)
1 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
1 cup water, or as needed
A little chopped fresh green coriander leaves for garnishing

Directions

Just 4 easy steps and you're done!

1)  Heat the oil in a cooking pot over medium-high heat.

2)  Fry the diced onion till light brown.  Add chicken and cook for  5 minutes.
Reduce the heat to medium, and stir in the garlic/ginger and all powdered spices.  Stir and cook until the spices are fragrant, 1 to 2 minutes.   Add water. Simmer until chicken is almost tender.
 
3)  Add chickpeas, tomato paste and lemon juice (if desired).  If it looks too dry or thick, add a little additional water, otherwise not. Reduce heat to medium-low, cover, and simmer for 10 or 15 minutes until it's of desired consistency.
 
4)  Garnish with fresh green coriander leaves before serving.

It can be eaten with plain boiled rice, fried rice or pitta flatbread .. the choice is yours