Chole

We loved Chetna Makan on "Great British Bake Off" and her first cookbook, The Cardamom Trail was full of many flavorful and stunningly photographed dishes. For Chai, Chaat & Chutney: a street food tour through India, she returned home to India and the street food that she grew up on. The book has four chapters that are organized by cities that make up the four corners of India - Chennai, Kolkata (formerly known as Calcutta), Mumbai and Delhi. The fifth chapter? All masala and chutney recipes. Some recipes will look or sound familiar, others will not...but the photos and descriptions of the food will make you want to eat (or drink!) all of them. If you love Indian food or any form of street food, this is the cookbook for you! This recipe is a wonderful example how curries in the North of India use lots of fragrant and aromatic spices to make this mouth-watering vegetarian curry made with chickpeas.

From the author: "One of the ultimate curries of the North, this chickpea curry is often paired with Bhatura, a deep-fried flatbread sold piping hot originally on the streets of Delhi but, now, all over the country. This combination should be on everyone’s must-try list when visiting India. You can keep it light by eating this curry with rice or chapatti, if preferred."

Ingredients

3 tablespoons sunflower oil
2 Black Cardamom Pod
2 Green Cardamom Pod
4 Cloves
1 Cassia Stick Cinnamon
2 Turkish Bay Leaf
1 teaspoon Cumin Seed
2 large onions, grated or blitzed to a paste in a food processor
3 garlic cloves, finely chopped
2.5cm (1 inch) piece of fresh root ginger, peeled and finely chopped
2 tomatoes, grated
200ml (1/3 pint) water
1-1/2 teaspoons Kosher Salt Diamond Crystal
1 teaspoon ground Turmeric
1 teaspoon chilli powder, plus extra to garnish (see Notes)
1 teaspoon Amchoor
1 tablespoon Indian Coriander Seed, ground
1 tablespoon Indian Garam Masala, ground
2 x 400g (14oz) cans chickpeas
handful of fresh coriander (cilantro) leaves, finely chopped
sliced onion, to garnish

Directions

Heat the oil in a wide saucepan and add the black and green cardamom pods, cloves, cinnamon and bay leaves and cook for 1 minute, until they begin to change colour. Add the cumin and, once it starts to sizzle, add the onion. Cook over low to medium heat, stirring often, for about 10 - 15 minutes, until the onion is dark golden brown.

Stir the garlic and ginger into the saucepan and cook for 1 minute. Then stir in the tomatoes and 100ml (3-1/2 fl oz) of the measured water, cover the pan with a lid and cook over low heat for 20 minutes, until the tomatoes are soft and the mixture comes together as a sauce. Add the salt and spices and mix well.

Now add the chickpeas with their canning liquid and the remaining 100ml (3-1/2 fl oz) water. Bring the mixture to a boil, then cover the pan with a lid and simmer for 20 minutes, until the chickpeas are soft. Use a masher to crush just a few of the chickpeas so that they break down and thicken the sauce. Sprinkle over the coriander (cilantro) leaves, garnish with the onion slices sprinkled with chilli powder, and serve with the Bhatura.

Notes:

Chilli powder - You can use any ground chile or chile flake for chilli powder. It all depends on how hot you want the dish.