Savory Chickpeas in tangy tomato Glaze
TAMATAR KABLI CHANA USAL
-Recipe from Yamuna mataji
Soaking time: 8 hours or overnight
Preparation time (after assembling ingredients): 10 minutes
Cooking time: 2-3 hours or 30-40 minutes in a pressure cooker
Serves: 6
1 ¼ cups (235 g) dried chickpeas
5 ½ cups (1.3 liters) water (4 cups/1 liter if pressure-cooked)
5 tablespoons (75 ml) ghee or peanut oil
1 ½ teaspoons (7 ml) scraped, minced fresh ginger root
1 ½ teaspoons (7 ml) minced hot green chili (or as desired)
1 ½ teaspoon (7 ml) cumin seeds.
½ teaspoon (2 ml) black mustard seeds
8 -12 small curry leaves, preferably fresh
5 medium-sized tomatoes, peeled, seeded and diced
1 teaspoon (5 ml) turmeric
1 teaspoon (5 ml) chat masala or 2 teaspoons (10 ml) fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon (5 ml) garam masala
¼ cup (60 ml) minced fresh parsley or coarsely chopped coriander leaves
1 ¼ teaspoons (6 ml) salt
6 lemons or lime twists for garnishing.
1.
Place the chickpeas in a bowl, add 5 ½ cups (1.3 liters) of water
and soak for at least 8 hours or overnight at room temperature.
2.
Place the chickpeas and their soaking liquid in a heavy
3-4-quart/liter saucepan, add a dab of ghee or oil and bring to a full
boil over high heat. Reduce the heat to moderately low, cover with a
tight-fitting lid and gently boil for 2-3 hours or until the chickpeas
are butter-soft but not broken down. For pressure cooking, combine the
ingredients in a 6-quart/liter pressure cooker, cover and cook under
pressure for 30 minutes. Remove the lid. Drain the chickpeas, saving
the cooking liquid.
3. Heat 3 table spoons (45 ml)
of ghee or oil in a heavy 3-quart/liter nonstick saucepan over moderate
to moderately high heat. When it is hot, stir in the ginger root, green
chili, cumin seeds and black mustard seeds. Fry until the cumin seeds
turn brown.
4. Drop in the curry leaves, and just
1-2 seconds later stir in the tomatoes. Add the turmeric, chat masala,
garam masala, and half of the minced herb. Stir-fry over moderate heat,
adding sprinkles of water when necessary, for 3-5 minutes or until the
ghee or oil separates from the sauce and the texture is smooth and even.
5.
Add the chickpeas and ¼ cup (60 ml) of the saved cooking liquid.
Reduce the heat to low, cover and gently simmer for about 10 minutes,
stirring occasionally. If necessary, add small quantities of the
cooking water to keep the mixture from sticking to the saucepan.
6.
Remove from the heat and add the salt, the remaining ghee or oil
and the remaining minced herb. Garnish each portion with a twist of
lemon or lime.