Easy Chickpea Curry : IHCC

"One Pot Wonders" is our theme for this week at I Heart Cooking Clubs (IHCC), where we are currently cooking from Madhur Jaffrey's recipes. This will be our second last post for Madhur Jaffrey's theme, next week will be the last one. We will be starting with a new chef Yotam Ottolenghi starting from April. Ever heard of him? He is a chef specializes in Mediterranean cooking. He is most famous for his delicious vegetarian recipes. Interested to join in? Drop by IHCC to get further details.

Easy Chickpea Curry is an easy and quick dish to prepare. I made this as a One Pot Wonder during one of the weekday's lunch. 

A very nice and simple vegetarian chickpea curry.

We had it with some paratha. I have a pack of frozen paratha in my freezer, and since it does not require thawing, I simply pan-fry it when it is time to serve, at the same time, simply reheat the curry gently, just to warm it up. This is a really quick meal to put together. My kids really enjoyed the Easy Chickpea Curry with the paratha.

To view other delicious One Pot Wonder, please stop by I Heart Cooking Clubs.

Easy Chickpea Curry
Serves 4-6
350gm (12 oz) drained-weight tinned chickpeas (from a 540gm can)
2 tomatoes, about 225gm (8oz)
5cm (2in) pieces fresh ginger, peeled
4 garlic cloves, peeled
3-6 fresh hot green chillies
25gm (1oz) fresh coriander leaves
1 tablespoon ground coriander
2 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoons ground turmeric
1/2 teaspoon cayenne pepper
salt
2 medium potatoes, about 255gm (8oz) peeled
140gm (5oz) onion
corn, peanut or olive oil
1 medium stick cinnamon
5 whole cardamom pods
2 bay leaves

Step One
Leave the chickpeas to drain in a colander.

Step Two

Chop the tomatoes, ginger, garlic, chillies and coriander leaves and put in a blender with the ground coriander, cumin, turmeric, cayenne pepper, 1 teaspoon salt and 5-6 tablespoons water. Blend until smooth, pushing down with a rubber spatula when necessary.

Step Three

Cut the potatoes into 2cm (3/4 in) dice. Finely chop the onions. Pour 3 tablespoons oil into a wide, medium, lidded pan set over a medium-high heat. When the oil is hot, add the cinnamon, cardamom and bay leaves. Ten seconds later, add the onions and potatoes. Stir and fry for about 6 minutes or until the onions are lightly browned. Add the paste from the blender. Stir for a minute. Cover, reduce the heat to medium-low, and cook for 6-7 minutes, lifting the lid now and then to stir. Add the chickpeas, 1/4 teaspoon salt and 250ml (8fl oz) water. Stir and bring to a simmer. Cover, and cook gently on a low heat for 20 minutes, stirring occasionally.