We had some friends visit and spend the weekend with us recently, this was what I put together for us

The vegetables cooked were okra or Bhindi Masala, cauliflower & potatoes or Aloo Gobi with a chickpea curry or famously known as Chole Masala accompanied with rice and chapattis

For this chickpea recipe you could choose to use canned chickpeas to make it easier and avoid the hassle of soaking over night.

Here is a recipe for the star of this meal ‘Chole Masala’:

Cook time: 25 mins                                                            Prep time: 10 mins 

The chickpeas will need to be soaked overnight if you are using raw chickpeas & cooked through post soaking, else I recommend using canned chickpeas as they work just fine! (should save you a lot of time too 🙂 )

Ingredients:

• 250 grams of Chickpeas if raw else 3 cans
• 2 large red onions
• 3 large tomatoes
• 2 green chilies
• 1 tea spoon cumin seeds
• a hand full or fresh coriander leaves
• 3 table spoons of Chole Masala powder (I use MDH, another good brand is Everest, you can find this at your local Asian store)
• 2 garlic pods
• 1 table spoon of freshly grated ginger
• salt to taste
• cooking oil

Start by soaking the chickpeas overnight & cooking your chickpeas through post soak,if you are using canned chickpeas then chop your onions, tomatoes, garlic, green chilies & grate the ginger

In a wok add your oil and turn the heat on medium, once the oil is hot add in cumin seeds, once you notice them sizzle and ooze out bubbles add in your ginger, garlic & chili

Give this a stir and when you notice them slightly change color in 2-3 seconds add in your onions, now is the time to be patient and let you onions turn brown and translucent this may take 2-3 minutes. Stir it to avoid burning.

To this add your chopped tomatoes and stir in the chole masala powder, reduce the heat to medium- low and let this cook with the lid on for 3-5 mins

Once you notice the tomatoes are cooked through and mushy, add in 80% of the chick peas with the water and retain 20% to add in later

Now, mash the remaining 20% of your chickpeas using a potato masher to a rough paste

Add in this mashed chickpea paste to add body to your curry

Finally season with salt and add in your final ingredient the coriander leaves while you turn the heat off. Your Chole Masala is now ready and they are best served with chapatis or rice!

Tip: Once prepared, the chickpeas will soak in all of the flavors with time! If you prepare it in advance or the previous day, don’t worry! They get better as time passes 🙂