Thursday, March 31, 2011

Curried Chickpeas for Jeremy



The fact that I have prepared warm, spicy, velvety, curried chickpeas twice this week says something about the spring season so far. But enough about the weather. . .

Last weekend, a very old and dear friend was in town and, after succumbing to the prospect of an oncoming cold, I decided last minute we'd stay in and I would cook. After making an out of town guest shlep across the beltway to my house during rush hour traffic on a Friday, dinner had better be GOOD, I thought.

But as I've tinkered with odds and ends ingredients over the years, a cooking mantra has stuck to me like fat drippings to an all clad pan: good doesn't have to mean complicated.

Since fate was left to the Friday night traffic, and the estimated time of arrival ranged between 25 to 60 minutes, ingredients came out of the pantry quickly. What took the longest to cook went on the stove first. Brown rice in one pot and onions in another.

(A note: when my students in cooking class openly resist those untimely ingredients like rice or dried black beans, I gently offer a new perspective in defense of these foods and the "cooking ahead" strategy: it's not YOUR time, it's the beans' time.")

By the time my friend came to the door, all ingredients were in the pot cooking and dinner was on its way.

The meal fed three and a half of us. Luckily the dish satisfied my two dinner mates with one helping. As for myself and my other pregnant half, we went back for a second bowl.

Curried Chickpeas
Serves 2-3

2 Tablespoons plus 1 teaspoon oil
1 onion chopped
2 teaspoons salt, or to taste
1 Tablespoon black mustard seeds
2 Tablespoons tomato paste
3 cups cooked chickpeas (if using canned, drain and rinse first)
2 cups canned diced tomatoes, plus 1 cup juice drained and reserved
1 1/4 cups light coconut milk
2 1/2 Tablespoons curry powder
1 Tablespoon ground coriander
pinch red pepper flakes
cilantro garnish (optional)

Heat 2 Tablespoons oil over medium heat. Add onions and salt, cook until tender. Move onions to one side of pan, add remaining 1 teaspoon oil and black mustard seeds. Cook until mustard seeds make a popping sound and mix in with onions. Mix in tomato paste and cook 3 minutes. Add chickpeas, diced tomatoes, tomato juice, coconut milk, and remaining spices. Heat until mixture bubbles and cook 10 minutes or until sauce thickens.

Serve over rice.

No comments:

Post a Comment