Brown Chickpeas Curry

Last Thursday, I went to Shirdi Sai Baba Temple in Kuala Lumpur. Being a staunch believer of Baba, I thought of making Brown Chickpeas Curry for the afternoon food offering after the prayers. I'm not a big fan of legume based dishes but this particular curry has full bodied texture and aromatic smell contributed by the dried roasted coconut. The semi-thick curry was a great complement with Kuska or Plain Biryani. Apart from the, this curry goes well with Indian types of flat bread or white rice. Legumes and lentils are rich in protein which is a boon for vegetarians and by including a small proportion of it thrice a week will help utilization of folate, phosphorus, dietary fiber and other essential nutrients. Most importantly, the taste must be good to eat and I can assure you on that. 

Brown Chickpeas Curry

Ingredients :

Brown chickpeas : 250 gm

Raw or cooking banana or potato : 1 (optional)

Onions : 2 big

Ginger : 1 inch piece

Coriander leaves : a small bunch

Turmeric powder : 1/2 tsp

Salt : as needed

Tamarind : a very small lime size

Oil : 2 tbsp

 Ingredients to dry roast and grind :

Grated coconut : from 1 small coconut

Dry red chillies : 12

Black peppercorns : 1 tsp

Fennel seeds : 2 tsp

Cinnamon : 1 inch piece

Cloves : 6

Star anise : 1

Coriander seeds : 1 tbsp

 To temper:

Mustard seeds : 3/4 tsp

Curry leaves : 2 sprigs

Dry red chillies : 1 

Method :

1. Soak the brown chickpeas in a sufficient water overnight.

2. The next day, pressure cook the chickpeas, 1/2 tsp of turmeric powder and salt with 6 cups of water for 7 whistles. The cooked chickpeas should be tender.

3. In a pan, dry roast grated coconut till it becomes deep brown colour but be careful not to burnt it. 

4. Next, dry roast the coriander seeds, fennel seeds, black peppercorns, cinnamon, cloves, star anise and 12 dry red chillies separately.

5. Grind the roasted coconut, other spices, tamarind paste and enough water till it turns into a smooth fine paste. 

6. Finely slice the big onions and chop the ginger. 

7. In a hot pan, add oil, start tempering the ingredients mentioned in 'To Temper' section. After that, fry onions and ginger till translucent.

8. At this stage I have also used roughly chopped potato, cooked chickpeas and its excess water in the pressure cooker. Cook for 15 minutes or till the potato is done.

9. Add ground spices and water if you desire the curry to be watery. Cook for a while, let say for 10 minutes. More than that will make the curry slightly curdled.

10. Switch off the stove. Garnish the curry with finely chopped coriander leaves of a bunch. Serve this with Kuska Biryani , plain rice or Indian flat bread. 

Brown Chickpeas Curry

-Abby