I’ve been making this simple chickpea dish a lot lately. One of the staples of the quick vegetarian dinner rotation is the humble can of chickpeas and I’ve used A LOT of cans of chickpeas over the years. This recipe uses the liquid from can so organic beans are preferable. I’ve just discovered the Coles homebrand organic canned beans are surprisingly good, in fact they are actually excellent. These chickpeas go really well with all types of flat breads (Indian or other) a simple chopped salad and yogurt raita. I usually make a mint and coriander raita which is just a bunch of coriander and mint, a bit of garlic, ginger, salt and a couple of heaped tablespoons of yogurt mooshed in the bullet blender. It is my favorite yogurt raita at the moment, really fresh and zingy and gets a dollop of greens into dinner to make this a one pot meal.

Chickpeas in a Simple Northern Style

Adapted from Madhur Jaffrey’s Vegetarian India

• 2 x cans chickpeas preferably organic
• 6-8 curry leaves (optional)
• 3 tablespoons of olive or peanut oil
• 1 medium onion, peeled and finely chopped
• 1 tablespoon peeled and finely chopped ginger
• 3 cloves garlic, peeled and crushed
• 1-3 fresh green chillies, finely chopped
• 2 teaspoons of ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground coriander
• 1 teaspoon ground cumin
• 1/4 teaspoon ground tumeric
• 3 tablespoons tomato puree (I use a glob of tomato paste if I haven’t got any puree)
• 1 teaspoon of salt, or to taste

1. Heat oil in medium size skillet over a medium heat. Throw in the curry leaves until they sizzle. Fry onions for 7-8 to eight minutes until they are soft and turning golden. Add ginger, garlic and green chillies and saute for a few more minutes until the onions have darkened slightly. Add spices, coriander, cumin and tumeric. Stir through onions then add tomato puree or paste and stir though thoroughly.
2. Add chickpeas with liquid then add another can of water and salt. Cover and simmer gently for 30 minutes and add more salt if needed.
3. Serve with Indian bread, yoghurt raita and chopped salad