This recipe uses quite a lot of tamarind. If you have never tried tamarind, but you like sweet-sour flavours similar to citrus and apricots (it is also the main ingredient in Brown Sauce), tamarind paste is easily found online, in supermarkets and Asian shops, and makes an excellent addition to a spice cupboard. A little bit added in to stews and curries adds a wonderful background flavour as well, and as a main ingredient makes wonderful zesty, fresh tasting dishes.
This is an incredibly common snack food throughout Punjab, most commonly served with fried breads such as bhature and puri, or plain rice and/or chapati (I love it in wraps with rice and/or salad and a touch of yoghurt for an Indian burrito interpretation). Similar to a chana dal/chana masala, but with a stronger and more complex flavour, and a thicker gravy. It is tangy, aromatic, and spicy with an underlying sweetness. By itself, it's quite healthy for such a hearty Punjabi dish as chickpeas are rich in protein and fibre, it is made without any added cream or butter, and vegan if you use oil instead of ghee. It is normally made with Chole, which are a larger version of channa (chickpeas), but I have found that canned chickpeas work very well. The main ingredients are black tea (trust me), tamarind paste (a decent squeeze of lemon juice with a touch of brown sugar can be substituted), amchur (dried mango powder, though again added lemon juice can work as a substitute, as can tamarind paste), and black cardamom (though green cardamom works perfectly well). If you wish, you can soak your chickpeas overnight in the black tea rather than add it to the sauce for a more aromatic and authentic flavour. You can also find chana masala mix in most Asian food shops, and they work brilliantly. You can leave out the cumin or cinnamon if you wish and instead substitute with a teaspoon of mango chutney.
INGREDIENTS:
-Two cans of chickpeas, rinsed and drained -One mug of black tea made with two teabags (You can use loose leaf tea if you wish and sieve out the leaves, but standard teabags work just as well) -Two to four chopped green chillies, to taste -One to two onions, white or red, very finely chopped or pureed with tomato paste -100g of tomato paste (I often add a bit more than this and less water so that the chole becomes thicker, almost like the texture of refried beans as I like to have it in wraps. You can also use a can of tomatoes or fresh tomatoes) -One heaped tablespoon and a half of ginger garlic paste, or equivalent grated ginger and crushed and finely chopped garlic -One tablespoon of tamarind paste, or more to taste (I often put in two as I love the flavour of tamarind) -Two bay leaves -Three to four crushed cardamom pod seeds, or three black cardamom for a sweeter and smokier flavour -Four cloves -Two heaped teaspoon of methi (dried fenugreek) -Two heaped teaspoons of amchur (dried mango powder) -One heaped teaspoon of red chilli powder, to taste -One heaped teaspoon of cumin -One teaspoon of sugar (this is to cut the acidity of the tomatoes, you can leave it out if you feel like it doesn't need it, or add more cinnamon) -One half teaspoon of ground cinnamon, or small stick of cinnamon -Salt to taste -Oil
(If you want to, garnish with sliced red onion, a little grated ginger, chopped coriander, or even a tiny bit of dried or fresh mint)
METHOD:
-Fry any whole spices for a minute or two in a touch of oil on a low heat until the aromas are released -Add in ginger garlic, fry for a minute at a slightly higher temperature -Add in tomatoes, onion, tea, tamarind, and ground spices -Add in drained chickpeas. Add water if needed so that the chickpeas are covered. Remove whole spices if you wish -Simmer until you get your desired consistency, about 20-40 minutes, adding salt to taste, and garnish with sliced red onion, chopped coriander, and fresh ginger, or even a bit of mint -Serve with rice and/or bread -Enjoy!
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