Chickpea Curry
This curry is famous amongst my family and friends, it’s actually one of my dad’s recipes (don’t tell him I’ve shared this with you ;) and we ask him to make this for us every time he’s around! A bunch of friends have had it down in France when they visited before, and I get asked about it ALL the time haha so I thought I’d recreate our own version of it - the only difference here is I don’t always use whole spices, but I’ve added both options…
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/6487b33d5ea6580249d1147b/6488b83dd8d44f27ec6c1f28/6488b84dd8d44f27ec6c229b/1686681677418/P7100025.jpg?format=original" alt="P7100025.jpg" />
P7100025.jpg
Ingredients :
250g of dried chickpeas (or 2 x 440g cans)
3 large onions
15g of fresh ginger
15 g of raw garlic
250g tomatoes (fresh or canned)
65ml of vegetable / coconut oil
1 can of coconut milk (400ml can)
2 black cardamons (or 1 tsp of cardamon powder)
2 bay leaves
8 cloves
1 tsp of cumin seeds
1 tsp of turmeric powder * (we sometimes add some extra fresh turmeric root too)
1/2 tsp of garam masala
1 tsp of coriander powder*
1/2 tsp of ground black pepper
1 tsp of dried mango powder*
opt: if you don’t have all the whole spices - which we often don’t you can just use a bay leaf to cook your chickpeas - and if you don’t have all the remaining spices replace anything with an asterix * above with a good quality curry powder instead! I eyeball about 2 tsp!
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/6487b33d5ea6580249d1147b/6488b83dd8d44f27ec6c1f28/6488b86ed8d44f27ec6c3047/1686681710834/ChickpeaCurry7CJoyFelicityJane.jpg?format=original" alt="Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane" />
Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/6487b33d5ea6580249d1147b/6488b83dd8d44f27ec6c1f28/6488b86fd8d44f27ec6c304a/1686681711046/ChickpeaCurry7CJoyFelicityJane-1.jpg?format=original" alt="Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane" />
Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/6487b33d5ea6580249d1147b/6488b83dd8d44f27ec6c1f28/6488b86fd8d44f27ec6c3050/1686681711260/ChickpeaCurry7CJoyFelicityJane-2.jpg?format=original" alt="Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane" />
Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane
Method :
Soak the chickpeas overnight the day before (if you are cooking your own!) in about 5 cups of water (they absorb a lot!)
We cook our chickpeas in our Instant Pot which takes about 15min - I just cover them up with water and add all the spices below but if you are cooking them over the stove : place the chickpeas in a pot with the soaking water, one chopped onion, the cardamon, the cloves, the bay leaf, peppercorns and cumin seeds, 1 tsp of salt, bring to the boil and cook for at least 50min. (if you’re in a pinch and you don’t have all those whole spices, just make sure at the very least you add the bay leaves, and I sometimes add one clove of garlic whole)
Drain the chickpeas (make sure to get the whole spices out) and keep the cooking liquid aside.
While the chickpeas are cooking, get your food processor out and in there add 1 onion, the fresh ginger, the garlic (+ fresh turmeric root if you want), the fresh tomatoes or canned, blend until everything is pureed.
In a separate pot, heat up your oil, and add your third and final chopped onion and sauté until soft. At this point add in your powdered spices : turmeric, garam masala, coriander, pepper, mango powder (or replace with just 2 tsp of good curry powder + garam masala - dad wouldn’t approve, but hey sometimes you want curry and you just gotta have curry you know?!) sauté for 1 min. (if you are using canned chickpeas add them at this point, and mix in with the spices)
Then add the purée of ginger/onion/tomato and sauté for a few more minutes.
Add your cooked chickpeas (if you cooked your own) with the cooking water after straining the whole spices, and one can of coconut milk. Cook on low/medium until the chickpeas are tender.
If you’re using canned chickpeas, after adding the puree of ginger/onion/tomato add in the can of coconut milk and 1 cup of vegetable stock. Cook for 10-15min until everything has gotten to know each other in that pot..!
This curry is ALWAYS better the next day, so make sure to keep some leftovers for lunch!!
Serve over basmati rice, with mango chutney, coconut yoghurt, a sprinkle of spring onions, and unsweetened desiccated coconut.
<img src="http://static1.squarespace.com/static/6487b33d5ea6580249d1147b/6488b83dd8d44f27ec6c1f28/6488b86fd8d44f27ec6c3055/1686681711537/ChickpeaCurry7CJoyFelicityJane-3.jpg?format=original" alt="Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane" />
Chickpea Curry | Joy Felicity Jane
This right there is a hug in a bowl. Nothing reminds me more of home than this! It’s the most delicious curry ever, very easy too if you don’t cook your own chickpeas (unless you have an Instant Pot like us.. then there’s no excuse, you just have to remember to soak them which we often don’t - just make sure to buy good quality chickpeas, organic, and ideally in a glass jar not canned, they are always better taste wise in my opinion)
I hope you like it, and if you try it please do let me know!!
I hope you all have a magical weekend, we’re having a very chilled one at home, doing a few projects like painting our book shelves my dad built for us about a year ago…. (my dad is a legend) but also.. we’re lazy haha and probably with plenty of walks in the park, and maybe a swim at Hampstead ponds!
