Chickpea Curry

Here is another delicious curry to share with you.
I have three Chickpea Curries I make often, and another couple to try if I fancy them!
In some ways this is the most inappropriate one to share because it includes ingredients like asafoetida, tamarind and chaat masala, that aren't so well known in the West. But O it is a delicious curry. The first time I made it I wrote 'Such yummy sauce!' beside the recipe in my book.

Also, this is the one I made recently, so I have a photo! And another good thing to share is that I froze half of it, and it defrosted and warmed up scrumptiously. This makes it precious in my household where there is only me to feed!

It is also good to consider what a treat it might be on a YamDaisy Menu, a delicious curry that you might not make yourself, but would be delighted to eat every time it is served at the YamDaisy Cafe.

CHANA MASALA (That pretty well means Chick Pea Curry!)

250g chickpeas, soak and cook, reserving liquid (= 2 cans of chickpeas)
2 tsp tamarind paste soaked in hot water and when cool put through a sieve to get a thick puree

Roughly chop and then blend to a paste:
1 large onion
2 garlic cloves,
2-3 cm fresh ginger
1 green chili
Now heat 2/3 cup of oil and gently fry the onion mixture until golden brown

Add
1 tbsp ground cumin,
1 tbsp ground coriander
1 tsp chili powder
a pinch of asafoetida
stir for a minute, and then take the pan off the heat and carefully add
2 tbsp of thick yoghurt,

1 tbsp garam masala,
stir until it is completely mixed in and then back on the heat gradually add
3 cups of reserved water from cooking the chickpeas (or just water!) and bring to a simmer

Add the tamarind paste,
the chickpeas
half a lemon (the whole thing, not just the juice!)
3 green chillies (also whole)
Simmer 30 minutes and remove the lemon. If the sauce isn't thick, keep simmering until it is.

Stir in
2 tsp chaat masala
1/4 tsp garam masala

I have adapted the recipe from a book called "Food of India" and this day I served it with rice, beans (a favourite lately!), chopped tomatoes and lots of fresh coriander. Absolutely delicious!

Curried Peas and Cheese

I found this recipe so many years ago that Charmaine Solomon knew Australians would generally have no idea what paneer is, so she made use of ricotta to make the cheese that goes with the peas.
This was the first curry recipe I made that wasn't bought curried powder fried up and turned into a vegetable stew with a few sultanas thrown in (this might give you a good idea of how old I am!!!!).

I loved this recipe so much, and I still get the same pleasure every time I make it. While most of my cooking has become more authentic as I have learned about Indian food and ingredients, and I can buy paneer at my local shops, I still make this recipe in the same way. It is just such a delicious dish. If you want to get more authentic, look up Muttar Paneer, but maybe you will love this recipe too!

Cheese and Peas
250g ricotta, drain on paper towels, form into small balls.
Heat 1 tbsp ghee and 1 tbsp oil together and fry the ricotta balls til golden.
Lift out and drain on paper towels while you do the next steps.


In the same pan fry
2 finely chopped onions,
2 crushed garlic cloves
2 tsp of grated ginger
until soft and golden.

Then add
2 tsp ground coriander
1 tsp ground cumin
1 tsp ground turmeric
1/2 tsp cayenne powder (optional)
cook stirring for a minute

Add
2 firm ripe tomatoes, chopped
1/2 tsp garam masala
stir in and cook until the tomatoes are mushy

Add
750g shelled peas
cover and cook until almost tender (add a little water if too dry, but it should be right)

Add the ricotta balls and
1tbsp of chopped coriander leaves and
salt to taste
Cover and cook gently 10 minutes more

Sprinkle with another 1/2 tsp garam masala
and one more tbsp of chopped coriander leaves
and serve hot with rice or chapatis

and in my case with some strips of red capsicum!

Dal Makhani

When I come up with YamDaisy menus (for more info see here),  I try to make sure the soup and each of the main meals are quite different to each other ~ if one is dairy based, another will be dairy free, if one is spicy, the others won't be, and so on.

But I am having a little break from posting menus and thought I might do a little celebration of Indian dishes. I am thinking of how popular curry is as a meal and that maybe, in some areas, the YamDaisy Cafe would have customers who want curries on the menu all the time!

My last post was a delicious spiced vegetable curry, this one is a dal, and maybe the most comforting dal of all. Dals are cooked beans or lentil dishes and are the delicious, nutritious foods the YamDaisy Cafe is all about.

Dal Makhani is quite a rich dal, but balances out when served with rice and a fresh salad of tomato, cucumber and avocado. It is a bit of a procedure, but what a dish! It is made with a mixture of beans and lentils, and it took me a while to get this recipe just the way I like it. That is because I am not that fond of urad dal ~ it doesn't cook to the creamy softness of other pulses, but that does mean it gives this dal a bit of back bone, which is why it is such a classic. I do put less urad dal than some recipes, but I find this ratio perfect!

 DAL MAKHANI

Place 1/4 cup split urad dal and 3/4 cup black or red kidney beans in a bowl and cover with water and leave to soak over night
In the morning rinse 1/2 a cup of channa dal and put to soak for an hour.

Next put the urad and black beans in a pan with water to cover by a couple of centimetres. Bring to the boil and boil hard for 10 minutes. I have a tea ball that I fill with 6 cardamom pods, 4 cloves and a piece of cinnamon bark that I let boil along with the pulses. This adds a depth of flavour.

After the 10 minutes, remove the spiceball if you have put it in, and add the chana dal. Bring back to the boil and remove any scum foam. If I have removed the scum, and add a little oil, I find I can then pressure cook the pulses for 15 minutes, but you need to be sure of your cooker, most pressure cookers warn against cooking lentils under pressure.
It would probably take an hour and a half of simmering to cook in a saucepan. Stir occasionally and top up with water as necessary.
When they are cooked you can squish them with a wooden spoon to make a thick mash with each pulse giving its own texture.

Next stir in a big tablespoon of butter and a big tablespoon of cream and season with salt to taste. Then stir in a tin of diced tomatoes (or equivalent fresh if you are so lucky) and keep the pot on gentle heat while you fry the tarka.

Now heat a tablespoon of oil or ghee in a small frypan. Have all these 'tarka' ingredients ready to add in.
Add a tsp of cumin seeds and fry til crackling
Then add four finely chopped garlic cloves, and as they fry add a small finely chopped onion and fry til golden brown
Next add 2 sliced fresh chillies and 2 tsp of chili powder ~ you can add less ofcourse, but the cream softens the chili heat, so it can be surprising how much this dal needs
Add a tsp of turmeric powder and let it sizzle for another minute and then stir it all into the pulses.

You can finish it off with a tsp of cream in a swirl, and some chopped coriander.

Delicious!