Monday, June 13, 2005

Chickpea curry...a recipe in the making

I've been experimenting with chickpeas. I rather like the odd little things, although the after effects are sometimes not so pleasant - at least for people around me :D. Hee hee hee.

Anyone got any more ideas to add to this rather yummy recipe...

You'll need

onion
garlic (in large quantities - the original recipe said one piece, I use about 3, maybe even 4...:D)
1 heaped tsp all spice (although I ran out the other day I put Chinese 5 spice in without any ill effect)
1 heaped tsp cumin
Chilli powder to taste (some like it hot...)
Chickpeas (about 3 or 4 handfuls)
Vegetables (another 3 or full handfuls) - I've been using sweet potato, courgette (zucchini for American readers) and green peppers plus other random stuff in the fridge that looks like it could use eating (cooking a la studentville style).
About a mug of water or stock
The original recipe says a tin of chopped tomatoes - but I'm a snob so I use about 3 fresh ones (or 2 of the big juicy ones). Its better that way.

So...how to...

1. Fry onion & garlic til they look clear (but not burnt!)
2. Add spices
3. Add chickpeas
4. Add vegetables
5. Add tomatoes & water or stock
6. Simmer for about half and hour or so. Keep an eye on it, if it starts looking a bit dry add some more water.

Yeah - its a tough one this...thought I'd stick it on the blog, as the recipe is starting to look a bit tattered so at least this way I can refer back to it.

Any ideas on how to improve this delightful little number?

I have to say, having cooked very little when I lived in NY at the start of this year, I'm really getting into it these days. I've just ordered Madhur Jaffrey's Curry Bible. Mmmmm. When I move into my new flat (18 days and counting, tick tock tick tock) I plan to invest in some fun stuff like a food processor, maybe a juicer (as I do miss NYC smoothies a lot) and probably a steam cleaner because I am such a clean freak and I saw one on TV last week and it just looked like so much fun. (Apparently you can use it to clean carpets and furniture...and it works really well on windows!)

3 comments:

Lorcan said...

NYC smooties miss you as well!!!!

My friend Marshal used to say that Chickpeas taste like rainwater...

yummm

all the best

lor

PS smoothies... as smooth as the surface of my brain, as a friend also used to say ( no folds no sense... )

Robin M. said...

If you add a little fresh chopped ginger along with the garlic, and in similar quantities, that will help the taste and the after effects.

Contemplative Activist said...

What a fan-tab-u-lous idea!

Thanks Robin, I will do that!

I love ginger :D