Chana Masala

Hi, it’s winter here in Tasmania and the cold has really set in.  Being gluten free and vegetarian I find my only real take out options are Indian or Thai.  I’ve recently moved out of the city so it’s almost impossible to get restaurant delivery to where I am, unless I can convince a friend to visit me for dinner and pick up the goods on the way.  I am normally intimidated by cooking curries from scratch, because of the dense combination of spices.  I have however decided it’s time to learn, because nearly all the packet curries or pastes contain fish sauce anyway.  I’m starting with Chana Masala a delightful chickpea curry, which turned out incredibly delicious.  Hint:  Make sure you soak your chickpeas overnight (or be prepared to cook them forever).  My chipmunks loved it too, we ate over a game of rummy with no complaints #winningmummy.

Curry ingredients

• 1 tablespoon of coconut oil
• 1 tablespoon of whole cumin seeds
• 1 brown onion (chopped)
• 1 tablespoon of minced garlic
• 1 tablespoon of minced ginger
• 1 whole green chili (roughly sliced)
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of garam malsa
• 1 1/2 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon of ground turmeric
• 3/4 teaspoons of sea salt
• 1/4 teaspoon of cayenne pepper
• 1 400g can of whole peeled tomatoes
• 500g of organic dried chickpeas or 2 cans of chickpeas
• 1/2 head of cauliflower
• 1/3 cup of water

Note: try to get organic where you can

Method: Chickpea prep (only if you are using dried chickpeas)

• soak chickpeas over night covered in water
• boil in water for 60mins before starting the curry or until they are soft

Let’s Cook!

• in a large saucepan heat oil on medium heat
• add cumin seeds and toast the seeds till they are golden and fragrant (be careful not to burn the seeds, turn down the heat if you need to)
•  then add the onion, garlic, ginger and chili pepper, cook these for 5 mins
• stir in the garam masala, coriander, turmeric, sea salt and cayenne pepper, cook for 2 mins
• Add tomatoes (including the juice from the can)
• stir the the tomatoes in breaking them apart with your wooden spoon
• Raise the heat slightly and add the chickpeas, cauliflower and water
• cook for 15 – 20 mins stirring regularly, allowing the onions and cauliflower to soften and the flavors to infuse.

Yum, you’re done.  Serve with rice.

health and happiness

Katri x