Chana Masala
An Original Recipe by Lorraine Elliott
Preparation time: 10 minutes
Cooking time: 40 minutes
- 1 tablespoon ground cumin
- 3 teaspoons turmeric
- 2 teaspoons garam masala
- 1/2 teaspoon ground coriander
- 1/2 cup cashew meal (ground up cashews)
- Ghee or oil for frying (ghee isn't vegan but I'm sure vegans know that)
- 1 onion, peeled and chopped
- 5 cloves garlic, peeled and finely chopped
- 1 inch piece ginger, peeled and thinly sliced
- 3 green chillies, sliced
- 850g/30oz. tinned chickpeas, drained
- 420g/15oz. tin tomatoes
- 1 cup water (or milk)
- 1 tablespoon rice flour (optional)
- Salt and sugar to taste (about 1 teaspoon each)
- Juice of 1/2 a lime
Step 1 - Heat a large pot on medium heat without any oil and add the cumin, turmeric, garam masala, ground coriander and cashew nuts and dry fry until fragrant (it will take a few minutes). Add ghee and add onion, garlic, ginger and chillies and cook for 2-3 minutes or so until onion is cooked through.
Step 2 - Add the drained chickpeas, tomatoes and water. Bring to a boil and then simmer with the lid off for 30 minutes or so. If you need the sauce to be thicker then add the rice flour.
Step 3 - Season with salt and sugar and then squeeze lime juice over the curry and mix. This is even better on the third or fourth day if you can wait that long.