Chickpeas in a spice-laced yogurt sauce

Name: Chickpeas in a spice-laced yogurt sauce
Yield: Serves 4
Cuisine: India
Ingredients: 4 cloves; 2.5 ml/½ tsp black pepper, crushed; 5 ml/1 tsp ground cumin; 2.5 ml/½ tsp ground turmeric; 1.25 ml/¼ tsp Asafoetida; 2.5 cm/1 in piece cinnamon stick; 4 green cardamom pods, bruised; 2 brown cardamom pods, bruised; 300 g/10 oz/1¼ cups full-fat (whole) natural (plain) yogurt; 10 ml/2 tsp gram flour (besan); 50 g/2 oz/4 tbsp ghee; sprigs of fresh mint, to garnish; 2.5 ml/½ tsp garam masala; chapatis or Phulkas, to serve; chapatis or Phulkas, to serve; 600 g/1¼ lb/4 cups canned chickpeas, drained and rinsed; 15 ml/1 tsp ginger purée; 3.75 ml/¾ tsp sugar; 5 ml/1 tsp salt, or to taste

Preparation info

Serves
4

Difficulty
Medium

Appears in

The Complete Indian Regional Cookbook

By Mridula Baljekar

Published 2017

About

The people of the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh are predominantly meat-eaters, but they also have some delicious vegetarian dishes, and Channa Madra is one of the most popular. Chickpeas are simmered in yogurt infused with cardamom and cloves, producing a beautifully fragrant sauce.

Ingredients

300 g/10 oz/1¼ cups full-fat (whole) natural (plain) yogurt
10

Asia
India
Himachal Pradesh
Main course
Spicy
Vegetarian

Method

Whisk the yogurt and gram flour together in a bowl, then set aside.
Melt the ghee over a low heat and add the Asafoetida.
Add the cinnamon, green and brown cardamom, cloves, black pepper, cumin, turmeric and ginger. St