Name: Gingered Chickpeas (Adrak Lasson Waale Chana Masala)
Yield: Makes 4 cups
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 2 tablespoons canola oil; 2 teaspoons ground Kashmiri chiles; or ½ teaspoon cayenne (ground red pepper) mixed with 1½ teaspoons sweet paprika; Juice of 1 medium-size lime; 1 small red onion, coarsely chopped; 1 large tomato, cored and coarsely chopped; 8 lengthwise slices fresh ginger (each 2 inches long, 1 inch wide, and ⅛ inch thick); 4 coarsely chopped, 4 cut into matchstick-thin strips (julienne); 8 medium-size cloves garlic; 4 coarsely chopped, 4 finely chopped; 1 tablespoon coriander seeds; 2 teaspoons cumin seeds; 1 cinnamon stick (3 inches long), broken into pieces; 3 cups cooked chickpeas; ½ cup finely chopped fresh cilantro leaves and tender stems; ½ teaspoon ground turmeric; 1 teaspoon Punjabi garam masala; 1 or 2 fresh green Thai, cayenne, or serrano chiles, to taste, stems removed

Preparation info

Makes
4 cups

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

660 Curries

By Raghavan Iyer

Published 2008

About

I love how the stir-fried ginger and garlic mingle with their pureed selves in this robustly flavored curry. I admit that folks need another chana masala recipe like they need a hole in the head (or another north Indian restaurant, for that matter), but I do think that you will agree that this version is a true winner. You can proudly take it to any Punjabi potluck and accept full credit for all your not-so-hard work—because this simple curry will come across as having been “slaved o