Chickpea curry, Pakistani style

[Ruhi_Rose]

 


This is a very simple and quick one to prepare.

Chickpea is of the lentil or legume family.  It's loaded with nutrition.  It's important properties include vegetable protein, iron, zinc and Vitamin B.  Last but not least, it's a very high fiber food, full of soluble fibers.  Being low in fat, it can also lower the cholesterol in the body.  Chickpea is one of those items which is popular in almost all communities.  It's used in plenty of Mediterranean and Middle-Eastern dishes.  In Pakistan, chickpea curry with fried flatbread (or puri) is a traditional holiday breakfast food.  If you are using canned chickpeas which are pre-boiled, chickpea curry can be a very quick-fix dish to prepare and relished for lunch or dinner as well. 

Here's how it looks when cooked.  The recipe is right there for you, don't miss it



We will be using canned chickpeas here.  If you prefer the unboiled ones in packets, that's fine too.  But boiling takes a while.  You will need to boil it for about one hour with a pinch of baking soda otherwise it will take longer.  Thus, it's advisable to boil it a day earlier and store it in the fridge to be used for cooking the following day.

Ingredients

2 cans of chickpeas, drained
2 small onions chopped
4 tomatoes chopped very finely, preferably crushed
Half teaspoon chilli powder
Half teaspoon paprika
Pinch of all spice (or garam masala as called in Urdu)
1 teaspoon cumin powder
Half teaspoon cumin seeds
Half teaspoon coriander powder
1 teaspoon salt
2 tablespoons cooking oil
chopped fresh coriander leaves
Half teaspoon crushed ginger & garlic paste

This set of seasoning is my personal choice.  You are welcomed to make your own variations according to your taste and that of your family.

Preparation

Fry the chopped onions in oil until light golden brown.  Add cumin seeds and garlic & ginger paste and stir for a few minutes.   Then, add chilli, paprika, coriander powder, cumin powder and salt.  Stir for a couple of minutes.  Keep adjusting the temperature of the cooker to make sure the heat is not too high to protect the spices from getting burned.  Add the finely chopped or crushed tomatoes and keep stirring on medium-low heat until the oil begins to show a little.  Now add the drained chickpeas into this mixture until well coated all over with the spices.  Add water to make enough gravy, about 2 or 3 tea cups, or as per your personal taste.  Cover and leave the chickpeas to cook for 20 minutes or until the gravy turns a little thick.  When done, garnish with fresh chopped coriander leaves, and sprinkle pinch of all spice over the dish.  That's it.  You're done!

To make it more fancy, you can also add diced and peeled potatoes with the chickpeas while adding water.

It can be eaten with fried flatbread (puri), parata flatbread, sliced wholewheat or white bread, fried rice or plain boiled rice.  The choice is yours
 

[Zainab_M]

O!  Thanks sis.  I've been contemplating on cooking this since a couple of weeks and wanted to confirm the seasoning by looking around for its recipe.  I think you pick of the seasonings is just fine.  I'll follow it from here. 

[Heba E. Husseyn]

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

[Ruhi_Rose]

Subhan'Allah, sis Heba.  This is a fabulous dish.  Easy and nutritious.  I guess it's originally Moroccan.  Most importantly, thank Allah Almighty for making your husband interested in cooking.  My husband knows very little cooking cause this is one household chore he's just not interested in    But to make up for it, he lessens my burden by doing a lot of dishwashing    He never refuses that